Re: Council Cuts
 

No, Neil had accused me of being rude for having the temerity to point out that Gayle was not perhaps the sharpest knife in the drawer. In the post you highlight I was being sarcastic, admittably not one of my most attractive traits.

Re: Council Cuts
 

:hehetable Take it you have a down on Kids and lollypop ladies Bob:rolleyes:

Re: Council Cuts
 

Not especially, Jaysay. I just don't like to see money wasted on schemes that are of little practical benefit to society. God knows money is hard enough to come by, so why are we spending it on not teaching kids to cross the road safely on their own? I had to learn how to do it, my parents and my grandparents made sure of that. And, as a consequence, though I have lived and worked in Central London and Paris, I can happily report that I have never been run over by a car and killed. not once - result!

It used to be included under the general heading of "looking after your kids" and it was what responsible parents did, without having to think too much about it. It came along with other nuggets of sage advice such as 'Don't stick your fingers in the fire, you will get burned.' and 'Don't talk to strangers.'. That was of course before the Nanny State stepped in and decided that everyone needed cosseting from the harsh realities of modern existance. Weening people off this ridiculous and costly dependence on the State is going to be difficult, but a start must be made and I think that Lollypop persons are a very good place to start.

Re: Council Cuts
 

I agree to an extent, but what about the "blame" culture that seems endemic these days? Imagine the tabloid outcry against the local authority when the first child is killed in a spot that used to have a Lollypop person, and the subsequent inevitable prosecution for negligence! The Councils will end up paying out more in compensation than it would have cost to keep the Lollypop persons in the first place!

Re: Council Cuts
 

Don't really know how old you are Bob, but I'm in my 65 year and here was a lollipop man at the end of Haworth St, and Moscow Mill St. when I was a kid;)

Re: Council Cuts
 

You really are a sad little old man arn't you?

You want to remove lollipop ladies just because they get in your way when driving at school times and don't care if children die. Maybe if we had decent, patient drivers it would not be a problem. Unfortuneatly we have idiots behind the wheel who only think about themselves and stuff everyone else - Are you one of those idiots?

How many children do you have yourself?

Re: Council Cuts
 

Now I have just said

There appears to be a pattern forming here

Re: Council Cuts
 

That is strange - I am not much older than you, yet I recall the primary school headmaster instructing us on the purpose of Belisha beacons as marking safer (unrestricted vision) crossing places. There were no zebra crossings attached to them, and no school crossing persons patrolling them.

Re: Council Cuts
 

The chap who did the Haworth St crossing left is lollipop, in the bakers shop and the chap who did the Moscow Mill left his in the butchers Margaret, don't let in worry you Margaret its those little grey cells :D

Re: Council Cuts
 

There's nowt defective about my grey cells. I have websearched and found this
"Patrols were formally recognised in Britain by the School Crossing Patrols Act in 1953 and allowed to operate across the country."

I started secondary school in 1952 - so I did remember correctly

Re: Council Cuts
 

And so did I:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

No, Niel. I want to remove Lollipop Persons because I do not think that they offer best value for money and are a symptom of the Nanny State that we could well do without. I would much rather see parents take a more active role in the education of their children instead of eschewing much of the responsibility and then complaining when things go wrong, as they inveitably do. I would like to see our children taught the value of self-reliance.

So, you patiently, and ever so carefully, pootle along at 20mph everywhere you go do you?

Ah well, into each life a little rain must fall...and here it is...

Beginning of the end for lollipop men and women - This Britain, UK - The Independent

I am so pleased at this triumph of common sense that I am almost tempted to open a bottle of Port.:yelrotflm

Happy New Year everyone!
:cheers:

Re: Council Cuts
 

Oh come on Bob if everyone had a happy new year it would only make you miserable:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

True, but I am a slave to tradition.

Re: Council Cuts
 

You mean Ebenezer Scrooge was a mate of yours Bob:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

Ebenezer Scrooge was an amateur by comparison.

Re: Council Cuts
 

No, I drive according to the conditions. Yes I do under 30 through town where there are pedesrtians and am a big fan of 20mph speed limits in housing estate type areas.

I think many of our older residents forget how much busier the roads are now compared to when they were at school.

Re: Council Cuts
 

How many councillors are being cut ? :confused:

Re: Council Cuts
 

Yes, the sooner a priority is given to curing Alzheimer's for the over 40's, (and you), the better.
:)

(What a load of crock, age has nothing to do with it, a person is either a careful driver or not!).

Re: Council Cuts
 

Who said age had anything to do with being a careful driver?

I did not.

Re: Council Cuts
 

Hmmm, digging holes!

Re: Council Cuts
 

Well he did see the error of his ways in the end Bob:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

That proves it.

Re: Council Cuts
 

Well all the county council cuts are coming from the lackies instead of the lame ducks at the top, no suprise there then :rolleyes:

ALMOST 70 per cent of the spending cuts made by Lancashire County Council will come from the front line, it has been revealed.
Despite promising to focus cuts on ‘back-office functions’, County Hall’s rulers are today set to agree £179million cuts that will mostly come from reductions to services.

Re: Council Cuts
 

What do LCC do that we will miss?

Re: Council Cuts
 

Educashun, edukatshun, hedukshan.

Re: Council Cuts
 

here it is ... though you may not miss some of them others might do ...

Bus routes hit as Lancashire County Council reveals £179million cuts (From Lancashire Telegraph)

No department has been left out of the list of cuts, which includes:
• Cuts to 16 bus services, of which eight will affect East Lancashire, including school services.

• No longer offering care services to 3,900 people whose needs are assessed as ‘moderate’, rather than ‘critical’.

• A hike in the charges for day care services, meals on wheels and home care.

• The closure of five of the county’s 15 children’s homes, leading to a reduction in the number of places available from 90 to 60.

• The closure of a further four household waste recycling centres, in addition to the four already closing this year.

Bosses admit that £97million of the cuts will affect services, while another £7.3million will come from increased fees and charges to taxpayers.

A consultation will now be held before a final decision is made in March on the cuts which will take place over the next three years from April.

Conservative council leader Geoff Driver said reductions of £179million from the previous budget of £725million left him with little choice.

The county council runs most services in Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. It employs 24,000 non-teaching staff, 9,000 of whom live in East Lancashire.

Council tax is likely to be frozen for the next three years.

Re: Council Cuts
 

here is the actual report from lancashire county council ...

http://council.lancashire.gov.uk/mgC...F.aspx?ID=1051

Re: Council Cuts
 

no ones it seems is safe from harsh tory cuts but not to worry im sure there will be a multi million pound boost to the needy soon from our government..

just not the needy in this country :mad:

Re: Council Cuts
 

So savage cuts to school bus services, meals on wheels, home helps, childrens homes......the list goes on.

Never mind. We are all in it together, as the following article shows.

BBC News - Bank bonuses 'to run to billions in 2011'

:(

Re: Council Cuts
 

I listened to this on radio 4 this morning .

So much for Vince Cable's waffling that the Coalition would take robust action against this sort of thing . :(

Re: Council Cuts
 

I would have said gritting, but that service was scrapped in December :D

Re: Council Cuts
 

I've just had a look at the proposed list of savings that went to HBC Cabinet yesterday, and I have to say it makes shocking reading. I don't envy the officers and members who have to carry out those savings. There are some very painful cuts there, and a lot of staff redundancies.

One worry I have is the proposed increases in income, which total nearly 650,000 pounds. It's one thing to cut back on spending, but its another thing to go out and generate income that wasn't there before, especially with reduced staff and reduced budgets. The concept of "speculate to accumulate" is not something familiar in local government.

All the same, I wish everyone good luck!

Re: Council Cuts
 

So are the pay cuts worked out by senior management and then approved by cabinet or do the cabinet decide it all themselves?

Re: Council Cuts
 

Senior management are the experts, and they have to be satisfied the cuts are achievable before they present options to cabinet for approval.

Re: Council Cuts
 

Does it say how the increased income can be raised?

Will they have to sell things, to do that?

Re: Council Cuts
 

I don't think scrap metal from a medal will raise that much :D

Re: Council Cuts
 

Ya but just think what it will bring at Sotheby's:rolleyes::D

Re: Council Cuts
 

It doesn't specify exactly how the income will be raised, which is perhaps the most worrying thing. Yes they can sell bits and pieces, and they can raise rents and increase fees and charges by more than the rate of inflation, but that comes at a cost in terms of customer resistance.

Each department seems to have a figure for increased income to achieve, and of course they can't include charges between departments as that would simply be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The inference seems to be that they will do work for external bodies and get paid for it (work which they currently aren't doing!).

In the current economic climate, that sounds a more than risky strategy!

Re: Council Cuts
 

I might equire how much it would be to hire a council leader for the evening, to serve drinks at the East Lancashire Swingers and Dogger's Ball.

:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

You'd end up with no sandwiches before the do even started.
:(

Re: Council Cuts
 

I didn't say which council's leader.

:D

On second thoughts, that Come Dine With Me Padiham Mayoress, might be better value for money.

You don't want some Billy Bunter, leaving your balls without nibbles.

:eek::D:eek:

Re: Council Cuts
 

Didn't realise you were a member G:D you've kept that quiet mate:rolleyes::p

Re: Council Cuts
 

I'm not.

They hire me as a style consultant.

Ensuring that everthing's done in the best possible taste.

;)

Re: Council Cuts
 

Do you supply the binoculars:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

The good news in the list of £2.3 million pounds Council cuts is that £1,000 pounds will be cut from the Refreshments budget.

So pink salmon rather than red salmon from now on. One sausage roll each less, and reduced leftovers for the Scaitcliffe House staff.

Times are hard!

Re: Council Cuts
 

They'll save that thousand quid, if they get Hurn's to stop cutting the crusts off their butties, and cutting then into dainty little triangles.

Time is money.

:rolleyes::D

Re: Council Cuts
 

Better still if it was just pie and peas:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

Would the caterers still be cutting the crust off?

"Would you like brown or red garnish with that Sir?"

Re: Council Cuts
 

What sauce comes in Green Less:eek::eek::eek::eek::D:D

Re: Council Cuts
 

Do we know what the refreshment budget is now ? It's a massive saving £20 per week :rolleyes:

Re: Council Cuts
 

If Hyndburn had published the spending figures legally required, we would have the information at our fingertips.

In the meantime, we are left to speculate. :confused::confused::confused: