How easy is EasYCouncil?

This morning I woke up to find my car snowed in at my Dad’s place. Earlier this year my Dad had been stuck at home unable to get out for over a week. He missed an urgent hospital appointment because the Council could not clear the back roads. He rang several times for help but these roads are not a priority.

My Dad belongs to the generation that went through the war and the hardship it brought afterwards. A generation that despite the massive debt was still able to deliver the greatest legacy ever left to working class families i.e. the NHS, Council Housing, Free Education to name a few.

My Dad proudly served in the Royal Navy during the Korean War and Suez. He has worked all his life and does’t expect much. But as he says ‘I paid my taxes!’ and gritting roads is something he quite rightly expects the Council to ensure happens.

If my Dad lived in Barnet and he rang the Council requesting someone to grit the roads, he would be told to ‘get a shovel and do it yourself!’

Thing is my Dad would do what we did today and get a shovel, collect some grit from the grit bins and clear the road himself. Luckily I was there to help and as I look outside others in the street have benefited from this community action.

So, does this mean EasyCouncil works? Does this mean that valuable council resources can be better targeted elsewhere?

In my opinion it doesn’t because, whilst in this case we cleared some snow, there are many residents with no one to help them or have the resources to do so.

If I heard correctly the Cabinet member for Environment at a recent Cabinet meeting said Barnet do not want residents taking grit from the roadside grit bins!

So my Dad would probably find himself in conflict with Barnet Council….what is the saying like father like son!

There are politicians and senior officers who want to shrink the size of the Council and leave residents to fend for themselves. The key word they seem to fail to grasp is Public. Yes, Public Services are for the Public you are elected and or paid to serve. It is at time like this that the Public expect Public Services to be ready to deliver to those in most need.

None of this is rocket science, we spend too much money and time listening to Consultants most of whom have never run a business or a public service.

I wonder how many Consultants would be successful if Councils started saying they would only pay so much up front with the rest paid once the promised savings have been delivered.

I think we all know the answer to that one!

Job well done!