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Surrey confirms plans to raise council tax by 15%, What would you vote if West Berks did the same? |
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Feb 24 2017, 01:37 PM
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QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 24 2017, 07:43 AM) One other old call, which would would be quite sensible to resurrect right now, would be the restoration of a properly unitary County level authority and if we must, retain tightly bounded parish level councils. Whilst that wouldn't deliver any saving in operational staffs, it should eliminate much of the now unproductive and expensive middle management. In simple terms, an administrative authority for an area the size of Berkshire only needs one Director of Education, and so on. It's screamingly obvious, but then so is the reason its not even in consideration. There is a certain amount of this happening - I note, for instance, that West Berks building regulations are now handled by Wokingham. That said, the point about a 'Director of Education' is not as simple as you make out. We might for instance have a Director of Education and Children's Services in a smaller UA, but a Director of Education and a Director of Children's Service if we merged with a second UA. A bigger organistion does not necessarily have fewer staff to do the work. Mind you with all the direction coming from Whitehall, I'm not convinced LAs have much of a role in education at all
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Feb 24 2017, 07:08 PM
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QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 24 2017, 01:37 PM) Mind you with all the direction coming from Whitehall, I'm not convinced LAs have much of a role in education at all Me neither. Neither am I convinced that local authorities have a role in trading standards, environmental health, social services, housing, waste collection, roads, planning, health and safety, and libraries. There is maybe a role for parish-level local government in the preparation of local plans, but the planning decisions themselves should be made exclusively by informed professionals with reference to those local plans. The problem with local authorities is their board of management - councillors! Despite the Tory rhetoric quangos can be quite an effective way of delivering public services with national agencies working through local offices giving you local knowledge with all the benefits of economy of scale and depth of expertise, and despite the rhetoric of localism the majority of those services really require very few policy decisions, and for those that do, direct local democracy is quite possible now - we could for example be asked to vote annually on the service level for a range of services and the national agencies would then deliver those services locally to the standard agreed locally. There'd still be a role for local political activists seeking to influence those service level choices, but it would end the nonsense of electing deciders to decide on our behalf when we're perfectly capable of deciding for ourselves.
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Right an injustice - give Simon Kirby his allotment back!
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Feb 25 2017, 12:13 PM
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QUOTE (Simon Kirby @ Feb 24 2017, 07:08 PM) Me neither. Neither am I convinced that local authorities have a role in trading standards, environmental health, social services, housing, waste collection, roads, planning, health and safety, and libraries. There is maybe a role for parish-level local government in the preparation of local plans, but the planning decisions themselves should be made exclusively by informed professionals with reference to those local plans.
The problem with local authorities is their board of management - councillors! Despite the Tory rhetoric quangos can be quite an effective way of delivering public services with national agencies working through local offices giving you local knowledge with all the benefits of economy of scale and depth of expertise, and despite the rhetoric of localism the majority of those services really require very few policy decisions, and for those that do, direct local democracy is quite possible now - we could for example be asked to vote annually on the service level for a range of services and the national agencies would then deliver those services locally to the standard agreed locally.
There'd still be a role for local political activists seeking to influence those service level choices, but it would end the nonsense of electing deciders to decide on our behalf when we're perfectly capable of deciding for ourselves. The opposite is happening, with local regions being able to decide more for themselves thanks to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.
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Feb 25 2017, 05:31 PM
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QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 25 2017, 12:13 PM) The opposite is happening, with local regions being able to decide more for themselves thanks to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. The secret us in the text, the words 'some' and 'combined' tend to give it away. It's really an attempt to replicate the London model in the bigger conurbations particularly in the North. WBC dead in the water, clearly even HMG see it as too small to be viable even medium term. Anyone wanting a physical illustration of the crass silliness of the existing system simply needs to consider why in the pretend County of Berkshire, two large public parks in close proximity are managed by two separate councils operating with separate staff from separate offices. Not sure even Lewis Caroll could have dreamed that up.
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Know your place!
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Feb 26 2017, 03:37 PM
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QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 25 2017, 05:31 PM) The secret us in the text, the words 'some' and 'combined' tend to give it away. It's really an attempt to replicate the London model in the bigger conurbations particularly in the North. WBC dead in the water, clearly even HMG see it as too small to be viable even medium term.
Anyone wanting a physical illustration of the crass silliness of the existing system simply needs to consider why in the pretend County of Berkshire, two large public parks in close proximity are managed by two separate councils operating with separate staff from separate offices. Not sure even Lewis Caroll could have dreamed that up. What I'm saying is, whilst you have a view local services should be managed nationally, actually the opposite is happening and more national services are being managed locally.
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Feb 27 2017, 10:37 AM
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QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 26 2017, 03:37 PM) What I'm saying is, whilst you have a view local services should be managed nationally, actually the opposite is happening and more national services are being managed locally. Managed locally to ever stricter guidelines set centrally. That's not what I see as localism. It's more a ploy to shift expenditure from central to local taxation.
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Posts in this topic
Biker1 Surrey confirms plans to raise council tax by 15% Jan 21 2017, 07:19 PM newres Interesting article here.
https://www.theguardia... Jan 21 2017, 07:50 PM Biker1 Interesting, but will / can it be implemented with... Jan 21 2017, 08:00 PM newres QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 21 2017, 08:00 PM) In... Jan 21 2017, 09:37 PM On the edge QUOTE (newres @ Jan 21 2017, 09:37 PM) Wo... Jan 21 2017, 10:01 PM blackdog QUOTE (newres @ Jan 21 2017, 09:37 PM) ... Jan 22 2017, 11:23 PM Simon Kirby QUOTE (blackdog @ Jan 22 2017, 11:23 PM) ... Jan 23 2017, 08:16 AM blackdog QUOTE (Simon Kirby @ Jan 23 2017, 08:16 A... Jan 23 2017, 09:31 AM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Jan 23 2017, 09:31 AM) ... Jan 23 2017, 09:55 AM Biker1 15%?!!
Look at the hoo-ha over 1-2% rise i... Jan 22 2017, 09:39 AM Simon Kirby QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 22 2017, 09:39 AM) 15... Jan 22 2017, 06:18 PM Andy Capp I see a no vote as the council being given a manda... Jan 22 2017, 10:31 AM On the edge QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 22 2017, 10:31 AM)... Jan 22 2017, 04:30 PM user23 QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 21 2017, 07:19 PM) Pe... Jan 22 2017, 07:19 PM On the edge Quite facinating, then there is the Oxfordshire id... Jan 22 2017, 07:48 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Jan 22 2017, 07:48 P... Jan 22 2017, 08:19 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Jan 22 2017, 08:19 PM) Ap... Jan 22 2017, 10:12 PM x2lls Is there now a situation, whereby those can ill af... Jan 22 2017, 09:43 PM JeffG QUOTE (x2lls @ Jan 22 2017, 09:43 PM) Is ... Jan 23 2017, 09:27 AM je suis Charlie QUOTE (JeffG @ Jan 23 2017, 09:27 AM) You... Jan 23 2017, 09:39 AM JeffG QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 23 2017, 09... Jan 23 2017, 11:19 AM je suis Charlie QUOTE (JeffG @ Jan 23 2017, 11:19 AM) Now... Jan 23 2017, 11:38 AM newres QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 23 2017, 11... Jan 23 2017, 05:09 PM Turin Machine QUOTE (newres @ Jan 23 2017, 05:09 PM) Al... Jan 23 2017, 05:54 PM Andy Capp QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Jan 23 2017, 05:54... Jan 23 2017, 07:01 PM user23 QUOTE (newres @ Jan 23 2017, 05:09 PM) Al... Jan 23 2017, 08:25 PM blackdog QUOTE (JeffG @ Jan 23 2017, 11:19 AM) Now... Jan 24 2017, 03:40 PM Andy Capp QUOTE (blackdog @ Jan 24 2017, 03:40 PM) ... Jan 24 2017, 07:34 PM Turin Machine QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 24 2017, 07:34 PM)... Jan 24 2017, 07:36 PM je suis Charlie Cos Brexit an the election of Donald trump is a se... Jan 24 2017, 12:40 AM Andy Capp QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 24 2017, 12... Jan 24 2017, 07:51 AM blackdog QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 24 2017, 07:51 AM)... Jan 24 2017, 03:30 PM Andy Capp QUOTE (blackdog @ Jan 24 2017, 03:30 PM) ... Jan 24 2017, 07:35 PM Turin Machine Well that's it then, go back to parliament. Oo... Jan 24 2017, 09:44 AM Andy Capp QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Jan 24 2017, 09:44... Jan 24 2017, 10:21 AM Turin Machine How so? Jan 24 2017, 10:22 AM Andy Capp QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Jan 24 2017, 10:22... Jan 24 2017, 12:53 PM On the edge Oh I dont know Blackdog, it always seemed to me th... Jan 24 2017, 04:44 PM Biker1 Well there you go!
No need for a referendum he... Feb 9 2017, 08:42 PM Andy Capp QUOTE (Biker1 @ Feb 9 2017, 08:42 PM) Wel... Feb 10 2017, 01:45 AM Andy Capp QUOTE (Biker1 @ Feb 9 2017, 08:42 PM) Wel... Feb 10 2017, 01:45 AM Biker1 QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Feb 10 2017, 02:45 AM)... Feb 10 2017, 06:05 AM blackdog Localism in action! Transfer the tax burdon f... Feb 10 2017, 07:01 PM user23 QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 10 2017, 07:01 PM) ... Feb 11 2017, 01:05 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 11 2017, 01:05 PM) Su... Feb 12 2017, 08:12 AM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 12 2017, 08:12 A... Feb 12 2017, 09:35 AM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 12 2017, 09:35 AM) Wh... Feb 12 2017, 03:02 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 12 2017, 03:02 P... Feb 12 2017, 03:49 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 12 2017, 03:49 PM) I ... Feb 12 2017, 06:32 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 12 2017, 06:32 P... Feb 12 2017, 07:30 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 12 2017, 07:30 PM) By... Feb 12 2017, 08:06 PM blackdog QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 12 2017, 08:06 P... Feb 13 2017, 02:50 PM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 13 2017, 02:50 PM) ... Feb 13 2017, 04:26 PM blackdog QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 12 2017, 03:49 PM) I ... Feb 13 2017, 02:41 PM Turin Machine It's like feeding strawberries to donkeys! Feb 12 2017, 06:56 PM Simon Kirby QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Feb 12 2017, 06:56... Feb 12 2017, 09:12 PM Turin Machine QUOTE (Simon Kirby @ Feb 12 2017, 09:12 P... Feb 12 2017, 10:14 PM Simon Kirby QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Feb 12 2017, 10:14... Feb 12 2017, 10:51 PM blackdog Had a rootle on google.
It seems that the £23 bil... Feb 13 2017, 05:55 PM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 13 2017, 05:55 PM) ... Feb 14 2017, 11:10 AM blackdog QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 14 2017, 11:10 A... Feb 14 2017, 12:06 PM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 14 2017, 12:06 PM) ... Feb 14 2017, 03:36 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 14 2017, 11:10 A... Feb 14 2017, 05:44 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 14 2017, 05:44 PM) Ca... Feb 15 2017, 07:29 AM On the edge Post truth hits Newbury
Daily Mail headline screa... Feb 16 2017, 09:39 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 16 2017, 09:39 P... Feb 17 2017, 09:24 AM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 17 2017, 09:24 AM) I ... Feb 17 2017, 09:38 AM blackdog QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 17 2017, 09:24 AM) So... Feb 17 2017, 09:41 AM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 17 2017, 09:41 AM) ... Feb 17 2017, 09:44 AM blackdog QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 17 2017, 09:44 A... Feb 17 2017, 04:05 PM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 17 2017, 04:05 PM) ... Feb 17 2017, 07:09 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 17 2017, 07:09 P... Feb 17 2017, 07:22 PM blackdog QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 17 2017, 07:22 PM) Ab... Feb 21 2017, 05:43 PM user23 QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 21 2017, 05:43 PM) ... Feb 22 2017, 09:53 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 22 2017, 09:53 PM) In... Feb 22 2017, 10:41 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 22 2017, 10:41 P... Feb 23 2017, 08:57 PM blackdog QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 22 2017, 09:53 PM) In... Feb 22 2017, 10:49 PM On the edge QUOTE (blackdog @ Feb 22 2017, 10:49 PM) ... Feb 24 2017, 06:52 AM Cognosco QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 26 2017, 03:37 PM) Wh... Feb 26 2017, 04:11 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 26 2017, 03:37 PM) Wh... Feb 26 2017, 05:34 PM user23 QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 26 2017, 05:34 P... Feb 26 2017, 06:42 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 26 2017, 06:42 PM) Yo... Feb 26 2017, 07:20 PM On the edge QUOTE (user23 @ Feb 26 2017, 03:37 PM) Wh... Feb 26 2017, 07:58 PM Simon Kirby QUOTE (On the edge @ Feb 26 2017, 07:58 P... Feb 26 2017, 08:41 PM
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