Protest at West Berkshire Council Offices Options

[Richard Garvie]

A second protest against cuts to day centres, youth services and education related spending in the district are planned for the West Berkshire Council meeting this coming Thursday 17th February. Union members, care workers, youth workers, charity workers, services users, supporters and representatives of most of the political parties in West Berkshire will be lobbying for ammendments to the budget so that a full consultation can be carried out before services are axed.

Representatives are expected from Parish Councils and towns and villages from all over the district. The protest begins at 6pm.

[dannyboy]

Will there be food & drink provided?

[Biker1]

A second protest against cuts to day centres, youth services and education related spending in the district are planned for the West Berkshire Council meeting this coming Thursday 17th February. Union members, care workers, youth workers, charity workers, services users, supporters and representatives of most of the political parties in West Berkshire will be lobbying for ammendments to the budget so that a full consultation can be carried out before services are axed.

Representatives are expected from Parish Councils and towns and villages from all over the district. The protest begins at 6pm.

Thanks, I'll make sure I avoid it!

[TallDarkAndHands...]

Yeah - Cuts. I'd like to see more if I can. Both local and National.

Lets close down the Needle clinic in Station Road (next to a school)
Get rid of the green meanies who meance our streets.
Stop prescription methadone. After all - pi$$ heads still have to pay (or nick) their beer.
Limit child benefit to a maximum of two kids. If you can't afford em why expect others to pay for your lifestyle.
Limit University to people who are above average in intelligence. Say the top 25%?

Thats just for starters. Let's all have a protest against the protesters!!

[Rosewinelover]

Yeah - Cuts. I'd like to see more if I can. Both local and National.

Lets close down the Needle clinic in Station Road (next to a school)
Get rid of the green meanies who meance our streets.
Stop prescription methadone. After all - pi$$ heads still have to pay (or nick) their beer.
Limit child benefit to a maximum of two kids. If you can't afford em why expect others to pay for your lifestyle.
Limit University to people who are above average in intelligence. Say the top 25%?

Thats just for starters. Let's all have a protest against the protesters!!

What about if you have triplets? I don't think CB should be stopped at all, it could lead to poverty if someone had more than 2 children. What should be done is Income Support reduced until they get a job. The government will pay a single parent CB, WTC, CTC, 80%childcare bills (afterschool clubs/childminder), free school meals, money for job interviews etc. No reason why a person can not go out and get a job, even if they are £10 a week better off.

[Rosewinelover]

What about if you have triplets? I don't think CB should be stopped at all, it could lead to poverty if someone had more than 2 children. What should be done is Income Support reduced until they get a job. The government will pay a single parent CB, WTC, CTC, 80%childcare bills (afterschool clubs/childminder), free school meals, money for job interviews etc. No reason why a person can not go out and get a job, even if they are £10 a week better off.

To add, I WAS paying £700 a month nursery fees just for 3 days a week and I got NO help towards it at all. Luckily my son gets 15 hours a week free from the government now, so thats another thing they do to help people.

[TallDarkAndHands...]

To add, I WAS paying £700 a month nursery fees just for 3 days a week and I got NO help towards it at all. Luckily my son gets 15 hours a week free from the government now, so thats another thing they do to help people.

Its your choice to have kids. They cost money (or did no-one tell you)?

[dannyboy]

You claim to lead,
You're in the rear,
So were the ****
Do we go from here?

You take from us
As though you could
In this way do
Yourself some good.

This old folks home
Please tell us why
Our aged are thrown
Out here to die.

The old man eating
Hand out stew
Once saw his comrades
Die for you.

Ask that woman
What she did,
You'll find that she
Rasised seven kids.

The mental patient
Sent away
Had with joy that very day
Her baby by the motorway.

My eyes can see
Your policy
Your words don't mean
A thing to me.

It's time, my friend,
For worthy deeds,
Homes & jobs
Are what we need.

Your record isn't good
My friend
But soon now
Your career will end.

And one day soon you'll be asked
To say
What you did when
You had your day.

If you would start
To earn my vote,
Give that old drunk
Your overcoat.
Barry Crump - 1935 - 1996

[dannyboy]

Its your choice to have kids. They cost money (or did no-one tell you)?

Not many people intend to have three at once.

[Rosewinelover]

Its your choice to have kids. They cost money (or did no-one tell you)?

Huh? Never said it didn't cost money. I was making a point that I work, pay nursery fees etc and got no help, so if people are getting ALL the help in the world then why can't they.

[Iommi]

Yeah - Cuts. I'd like to see more if I can. Both local and National.

Lets close down the Needle clinic in Station Road (next to a school)
Get rid of the green meanies who meance our streets.
Stop prescription methadone. After all - pi$$ heads still have to pay (or nick) their beer.
Limit child benefit to a maximum of two kids. If you can't afford em why expect others to pay for your lifestyle.
Limit University to people who are above average in intelligence. Say the top 25%?

And people think running a country is difficult, eh?

[TallDarkAndHands...]

Huh? Never said it didn't cost money. I was making a point that I work, pay nursery fees etc and got no help, so if people are getting ALL the help in the world then why can't they.

Beacuse they'd rather let others pay (unlike you).

[TallDarkAndHands...]

Not many people intend to have three at once.

Some do as a result of IVF... oh and we pay for that some of the time as well.

[Bofem]

Are the local cuts really that bad?

We still have weekly bin collections, WBC is spending record amounts on fixing potholes, and our libraries and swimming pools are not for the chop either. Yes the day centres have gone, and I would rather we'd had time to organise them to be taken on by charities/local groups, but WBC isn't doing too badly out of this.

The unions amuse me as they rejected a pay cut deal last year, and are now also protesting against the cuts resulting from not taking a pay cut.

What is more worrying is the calibre of people staying behind at WBC. A friend of mine sacked from WBC is one of four staff who have repeatedly complained that their manager is incompetent and a bully. The manager has been there 10 years, and is surviving, while three of the four have been fired. Nice eh?

It seems people are losing their jobs just so WBC can maintain a monopoly on mediocre local services. If they'd transfer libraries, leisure centres, care homes, parks, schools, etc, there would be much more gain for much less pain.

[Simon Kirby]

Limit University to people who are above average in intelligence. Say the top 25%?

Quite right. It's silly to expect 50% of the population to have above average intelligence.

[Richard Garvie]

Are the local cuts really that bad?

We still have weekly bin collections, WBC is spending record amounts on fixing potholes, and our libraries and swimming pools are not for the chop either. Yes the day centres have gone, and I would rather we'd had time to organise them to be taken on by charities/local groups, but WBC isn't doing too badly out of this.

The unions amuse me as they rejected a pay cut deal last year, and are now also protesting against the cuts resulting from not taking a pay cut.

What is more worrying is the calibre of people staying behind at WBC. A friend of mine sacked from WBC is one of four staff who have repeatedly complained that their manager is incompetent and a bully. The manager has been there 10 years, and is surviving, while three of the four have been fired. Nice eh?

It seems people are losing their jobs just so WBC can maintain a monopoly on mediocre local services. If they'd transfer libraries, leisure centres, care homes, parks, schools, etc, there would be much more gain for much less pain.

I actually agree with some of what you say. My issue with the local cuts is that the day centres were axed with very little consultation, and the person making that decision had not even visited all of the centres he was closing. Also, the youth service budget has been axed by a massive eighteen and a half percent!!!

I know that 140 carers and youth workers have been axed, yet we have failed to address the issue of waste. The education budget has been cut by over eight percent, yet this pot of money was supposed to be protected under the coalition. For this reason, I will be showing my support by joining them on the night.

[user23]

Quite right. It's silly to expect 50% of the population to have above average intelligence.

[Simon Kirby]

Richard, I'm also not convinced that there are savings to be made by ferreting out waste. Savings will come from doing less. The question is what should the state do less of.

I do understand the need for respite for carers but I'm not convinced that day centres need to be provided by the state. They do appear to have been culled with unseemly haste, but they're definitely a legitimate target.

And you say the charities are turning up? I'm getting positively fed up with the third-sector snouts bleating on (or is that oinking on?)

Sorry, but I want to see an end of the Big Fat State, and frankly it's ripe for cutting. The problem as I see it is that those with the responsibility of making the cuts have a vested interest in preserving the Big Fat State, so I have no confidence that WBC will cull the legion of telephone sanitizers (2nd class).

[user23]

I know that 140 carers and youth workers have been axed, yet we have failed to address the issue of waste. The education budget has been cut by over eight percent, yet this pot of money was supposed to be protected under the coalition. For this reason, I will be showing my support by joining them on the night.

Where's all this waste happening Richard?

As I understand it Amey planned to cut waste 10 years or so ago and had to pull out because there wasn't any waste to make savings from. Since then we had Gershon, the current round of cuts and other efficiency savings so where exactly do you think this waste is?

[dannyboy]

Some do as a result of IVF... oh and we pay for that some of the time as well.

Been reading the Daily Mail again?