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> Post Code Lottery or Localisim?, Support for disadvantaged adults withdrawn
On the edge
post May 29 2012, 08:35 PM
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I think nearly all of us agree that the job of deciding what Council funds should be used for is very difficult. There is never and never likely to be enough money to meet all the demands. A balance must be struck. As the budgets are managed locally, service provision is likely to differ, sometimes substantially, depending on where you live. This is localisim - all about local difference. Arguably, the legal challenge against West Berks for reducing the level of suppoirt our elected councillors have chosen to allocate to support a segment of the community is really a challenge to local democracy. If you really believe in local democracy and accountability is a post code lottery so wrong? We (as a collective majority) voted them in - its our choice being challenged


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NWNREADER
post May 29 2012, 08:57 PM
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QUOTE (On the edge @ May 29 2012, 09:35 PM) *
I think nearly all of us agree that the job of deciding what Council funds should be used for is very difficult. There is never and never likely to be enough money to meet all the demands. A balance must be struck. As the budgets are managed locally, service provision is likely to differ, sometimes substantially, depending on where you live. This is localisim - all about local difference. Arguably, the legal challenge against West Berks for reducing the level of suppoirt our elected councillors have chosen to allocate to support a segment of the community is really a challenge to local democracy. If you really believe in local democracy and accountability is a post code lottery so wrong? We (as a collective majority) voted them in - its our choice being challenged

'Post Code Lottery' is a perjorative and manufactured term. I usually ignore stories with such headlines as the 'story' is so often a warped and selective version of reality.
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Andy Capp
post May 29 2012, 09:02 PM
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Good question, and one that has a vast amount of scope.

I suppose we have to understand better how things work before comment. We have to understand how the local settlement is calculated. Some areas will have more older and sicker people than others, for instance.

In previous posts, my criticism wasn't necessarily that we shouldn't invest in things like the beautification of the town and its surrounding areas, but that money is unwisely spent, in my view.

Take the repaving of Newbury town. The was over £2,000,000.00. OK, that is a lot of money, but it was used to replace a surface that wasn't that old and would have lasted for a while and would have still enabled the 'Vision 2015 to have proceeded.

The recent pressure on capital should really serve to remind future councils of how quick the economy can change and to be more prudent. I think we have to focus on the things that are sustainable and less vulnerable to a weak economy.

I understand that even if the £2,000,000.00 had not been spent on a new road surface, it might not have have found its way to helping the vulnerable, but if that is true, it suggests that there is something rather rotten about how money is budgeted.
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blackdog
post May 30 2012, 04:40 PM
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QUOTE (On the edge @ May 29 2012, 09:35 PM) *
I think nearly all of us agree that the job of deciding what Council funds should be used for is very difficult. There is never and never likely to be enough money to meet all the demands. A balance must be struck. As the budgets are managed locally, service provision is likely to differ, sometimes substantially, depending on where you live. This is localisim - all about local difference. Arguably, the legal challenge against West Berks for reducing the level of suppoirt our elected councillors have chosen to allocate to support a segment of the community is really a challenge to local democracy. If you really believe in local democracy and accountability is a post code lottery so wrong? We (as a collective majority) voted them in - its our choice being challenged

Any legal challenge can only succeed if WBC have acted outside of the scope of their powers - so the challenge is not anti-democratic because, whoever we vote for, they are bound to act within the various laws, guidelines, requirements, processes, etc.
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Simon Kirby
post May 30 2012, 05:23 PM
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QUOTE (blackdog @ May 30 2012, 05:40 PM) *
Any legal challenge can only succeed if WBC have acted outside of the scope of their powers - so the challenge is not anti-democratic because, whoever we vote for, they are bound to act within the various laws, guidelines, requirements, processes, etc.

Exactly. The real threat to democracy in its widest sense is when a council choses to act unlawfully or illegally, and I'm pleased for the prospective service users that they have the support they need to bring a legal challenge. If the challenge fails that still doesn't necessarily mean that WBC have acted democratically because their policy would still need to be consistent with their electoral mandate, but I just don't know enough about the proposed changes and the alternative options to make an informed opinion.


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