I really enjoyed the list of bizarre calls received by council customer services teams issued by the Local Government Association last week.
My favourites of the top ten were all from Surrey:
"Am I allowed to shoot a gun across a public footpath?"
"Am I allowed to roll up a zebra crossing?"
"Can I register the death of a person even though they aren’t dead yet?"
But there’s more… a gentleman from Dumfries was good enough to put a comment on the LocalGov.co.uk website saying that his staff had taken a call from resident who ‘had a goose stuck in their cat flap and wanted to know what to do about it’.(?!)
If you have any other examples of bizarre calls to customer helplines, the folk at LocalGov.co.uk would really like to hear from you. Email them here.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Friday, 20 August 2010
Taking a leaf out of Westminster’s book
Westminster has a salutary lesson for all councils this week – make sure you get tough on enforcement in these lean times.The council is naming and shaming the drivers of foreign-registered vehicles, many of them supercars, in an effort to recover some £4M owed in parking fines.
The council claims the owners of Bugattis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis routinely flout parking restrictions because they know officials struggle to trace them in their own countries.
In the past three years, offenders have failed to settle a total of 36,332 parking tickets, leaving the council £3,776,490 out of pocket.
To put all this into context, the owner of a Bugatti Veyron would have spent £1.2M and have failed to pay a £120 fine for parking on a single yellow line outside Selfridges.
The council is calling on the Government to help establish a system of international co-operation to allow local authorities to trace foreign motorists – 80 per cent of whom refuse to pay fines.
Hanging in there for Big Society
As councils up and down try to get to grips with the notion of Big Society, I have this cautionary tale for you from Wiltshire.
Linda Martin, 68, put up hanging baskets around the centre of Wilton, Wiltshire, in an attempt to brighten up the area.
But she was told they must be removed as they breached health and safety rules.
The former town councillor told reporters: ‘I am desperately upset by it. This is a slap across the face. I am supporting David Cameron's Big Society Plan - I am just trying to improve my community.’
Wiltshire County Council said the baskets had been placed at head height and could pose a danger to pedestrians.
However, it would appear that those seeking to brighten up their communities and abide by the Big Society mantra using floral displays have opened a can of worms.
Mrs Martin first began placing floral displays in tubs on the ground in the centre of Wilton, the ancient capital of Wessex, 12 years ago after deciding the market square needed brightening up. Paying for the flowers out of her own pocket she said she received many compliments from locals and visitors.
But she was forced to remove them after the county council said they posed a hazard and could cause people to trip.
Presumably, residents will be able to sweep up as long as they abide by reams of health and safety advice. The more you think about Big Society, the more unrealistic it all seems.
Linda Martin, 68, put up hanging baskets around the centre of Wilton, Wiltshire, in an attempt to brighten up the area.
But she was told they must be removed as they breached health and safety rules.
The former town councillor told reporters: ‘I am desperately upset by it. This is a slap across the face. I am supporting David Cameron's Big Society Plan - I am just trying to improve my community.’
Wiltshire County Council said the baskets had been placed at head height and could pose a danger to pedestrians.
However, it would appear that those seeking to brighten up their communities and abide by the Big Society mantra using floral displays have opened a can of worms.
Mrs Martin first began placing floral displays in tubs on the ground in the centre of Wilton, the ancient capital of Wessex, 12 years ago after deciding the market square needed brightening up. Paying for the flowers out of her own pocket she said she received many compliments from locals and visitors.
But she was forced to remove them after the county council said they posed a hazard and could cause people to trip.
Presumably, residents will be able to sweep up as long as they abide by reams of health and safety advice. The more you think about Big Society, the more unrealistic it all seems.
Who's at the helm?
I’ve worked in local government for more years that I care to remember and the last time funding was tight, teams were rationalised and the organisation was slimmed down. Sure, there was uproar, but we did follow the lead of the private sector and trim our cloth when times were bad.
This time, though, the pinking shears don’t appear to be restricted to the, let’s say, the lower tiers of local government.
If you are to believe what our amply-proportioned communities secretary is saying, top tier management and chief executives are also going to be rationalised when the cuts bite.
Even if Eric Pickles has reined in his controversial address to the LGA conference recently, it’s clear that he wants chief execs of districts and senior management to start sharing. He also wants to clamp down on hefty salaries and ‘golden goodbyes’ as chiefs move around councils offering their wares.
And today he went further still, hinting at plans for US-style, directly elected ‘super mayors’ where the roles of chief exec and leader are combined.
This has all had an interesting effect on the upper echelons at my council - ‘It’s all gone a bit quiet over there’, in fact.
Our leader is what one would call a ‘character’… a vociferous Tory and fan of Pickles (not the sweet kind).
Out chief is a mild-mannered, even-tempered yet astute operator… someone who side-steps minor political bluster and remains focussed on getting things done.
Both would like the other gone, and I know who’d get my vote.
This time, though, the pinking shears don’t appear to be restricted to the, let’s say, the lower tiers of local government.
If you are to believe what our amply-proportioned communities secretary is saying, top tier management and chief executives are also going to be rationalised when the cuts bite.
Even if Eric Pickles has reined in his controversial address to the LGA conference recently, it’s clear that he wants chief execs of districts and senior management to start sharing. He also wants to clamp down on hefty salaries and ‘golden goodbyes’ as chiefs move around councils offering their wares.
And today he went further still, hinting at plans for US-style, directly elected ‘super mayors’ where the roles of chief exec and leader are combined.
This has all had an interesting effect on the upper echelons at my council - ‘It’s all gone a bit quiet over there’, in fact.
Our leader is what one would call a ‘character’… a vociferous Tory and fan of Pickles (not the sweet kind).
Out chief is a mild-mannered, even-tempered yet astute operator… someone who side-steps minor political bluster and remains focussed on getting things done.
Both would like the other gone, and I know who’d get my vote.
Jumping on an opportunity
I was sent something by a colleague this week, which I felt the need to share with you…
Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted that he is ‘terrified’ by the prospect of trying to find a good state secondary school for his children in central London.
However, an opportunist press release from Westminster City Council said it would be ‘delighted’ if the PM, his wife Samantha and their children would visit their local secondary schools to see the ‘exciting curriculum and opportunities available to pupils’ (If only local government could always be this nimble).
In a letter to Mr Cameron, quoted in the release, Cllr Nickie Aiken, Westminster's cabinet member for children and young people, said: ‘I was sorry to read of your concerns regarding central London secondary schools in a recent newspaper interview.
‘I would like to assure you that Westminster has a number of outstanding primary and secondary schools. This is not merely in our parents’ and pupils’ opinion, but officially recognised by Ofsted.
‘We acknowledge that there is still room for improvement and will continue to build on our success to date.’
Hats off to the Westminster PR team, then (my colleague informs me that it wins lots of awards), although I’m not sure whether its efforts redressed any balance in the media.
As apolitical as I am these days, I guess this says more about our PM.
Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted that he is ‘terrified’ by the prospect of trying to find a good state secondary school for his children in central London.
However, an opportunist press release from Westminster City Council said it would be ‘delighted’ if the PM, his wife Samantha and their children would visit their local secondary schools to see the ‘exciting curriculum and opportunities available to pupils’ (If only local government could always be this nimble).
In a letter to Mr Cameron, quoted in the release, Cllr Nickie Aiken, Westminster's cabinet member for children and young people, said: ‘I was sorry to read of your concerns regarding central London secondary schools in a recent newspaper interview.
‘I would like to assure you that Westminster has a number of outstanding primary and secondary schools. This is not merely in our parents’ and pupils’ opinion, but officially recognised by Ofsted.
‘We acknowledge that there is still room for improvement and will continue to build on our success to date.’
Hats off to the Westminster PR team, then (my colleague informs me that it wins lots of awards), although I’m not sure whether its efforts redressed any balance in the media.
As apolitical as I am these days, I guess this says more about our PM.
Your advice please
Mrs Horace and I have been on our holidays.
We had thought about cancelling the trip, given that the outlook for my local government career is, at best, uncertain, but we decided to go nonetheless and escape the gloom of the UK.
What we didn’t reckon upon was that Greece would be even deeper in the mire than the UK, and that our trip would be punctuated with little ‘challenges’ such as striking ferry crews.
Like us, the situation in Greece doesn’t seem to be just about cuts, and the working population is now battling with the notion of increased taxes and pay freezes in the public sector.
Echoes of home, then, but nothing would prepare me for what I came back to (not the football… that was hardly a surprise.)
No, I’m talking about the letter from Nick Clegg and David Cameron asking for ideas on how to trim down the public sector.
Call me cynical, but isn’t this a case of asking turkeys to vote for Christmas?
I suppose the department for administrative administrations (universal services) would be at the top of most cuts lists, and, if I’m honest, I suppose a separate department isn’t really needed to monitor the council’s every buying decision.
But while I may reluctantly acknowledge the fat of my department, I think my reply to the Cleggameron will be that hefty local government cuts, particularly up here in the North, mean you are cutting to the region’s biggest employer.
Now what was all that stuff about local government helping to generate and support vibrant local economies?
We had thought about cancelling the trip, given that the outlook for my local government career is, at best, uncertain, but we decided to go nonetheless and escape the gloom of the UK.
What we didn’t reckon upon was that Greece would be even deeper in the mire than the UK, and that our trip would be punctuated with little ‘challenges’ such as striking ferry crews.
Like us, the situation in Greece doesn’t seem to be just about cuts, and the working population is now battling with the notion of increased taxes and pay freezes in the public sector.
Echoes of home, then, but nothing would prepare me for what I came back to (not the football… that was hardly a surprise.)
No, I’m talking about the letter from Nick Clegg and David Cameron asking for ideas on how to trim down the public sector.
Call me cynical, but isn’t this a case of asking turkeys to vote for Christmas?
I suppose the department for administrative administrations (universal services) would be at the top of most cuts lists, and, if I’m honest, I suppose a separate department isn’t really needed to monitor the council’s every buying decision.
But while I may reluctantly acknowledge the fat of my department, I think my reply to the Cleggameron will be that hefty local government cuts, particularly up here in the North, mean you are cutting to the region’s biggest employer.
Now what was all that stuff about local government helping to generate and support vibrant local economies?
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