[Caz]

The council would be better tackling the cause of the problem, in the first place. Surely it would be cheaper to keep the area clean in the first place, rather than having to call out pest control all the time. but then that's the council for you, cut corners to save money, then pay through the nose later. (or we do) Same in every department.

If you have rats in your immediate area i would suggest a group of neighbours get together and bombard them with letters, emails, or phone calls, about getting rid of the cause. That's what I've been doing on certain issues. May not take immediate effect, but who knows, if they get enough hassle, they might wake up eventually.

The money spent on printing and distributing leaflets could have gone some way towards the cost of cleaning. I'd say they're just trying to make it look like they're doing something!