Thomas finds his voice...

[DRiddle]

He may have found his voice, but The Mail seems to have banned comments again.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/catastrophe-predicted-for-hartlepool-as-abhorrent-funding-cuts-bite-deep-1-8271665

One way to save money is NOT fund criminals hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money and allow them to steal it.

[steveL]

'abhorrent'  doesn't seem like the right word to use to me. The Adult Services budget is fixed by the council itself and is at the mercy of what other wastage is going on within HBC. Waste less money, like running loss-making cafes in cemeteries, throwing £250,000 at saving Cranney's butt in an election etc, and more money would be available for Social Care.

[akarjl]

If HBC was a business the entire team would be sacked.

The concept of a council is outdated and in the case of Hartlepool doesn't work as the people there appear to be only interested in themselves and not the people they are supposed to support.

Basically they should be declared bankrupt and receivers appointed to manage/save the situation. Obviously that will never happen.

A professional management team is what is required. When you look at the management teams associated with large companies it is obvious the occupants of the Kremlin are completely out of their depth and employ a variety to smoke screens to cover their various failures.

It appears none of them seem to have the slightest idea about financial management and even if they did the final say so is given by Mrs and Mrs,Cranibble and Co.

No doubt the whole situation will be blamed on lack of funding from central government but they are to a large extent bring things on themselves as they simply can not manage a budget or more likely consider it their own pot of money to be utilised according to their vision of the way ahead.

The whole organisation should be investigated and audited. The alternative is yet another hike in the council tax to fund various visions, empires, fantasises  and, as was proved by MRA, movement of money into private cash funds.

[Gustaf I of England + BWH]

'abhorrent'  doesn't seem like the right word to use to me. The Adult Services budget is fixed by the council itself and is at the mercy of what other wastage is going on within HBC. Waste less money, like running loss-making cafes in cemeteries, throwing £250,000 at saving Cranney's butt in an election etc, and more money would be available for Social Care.

Is this the same Social Care that the Council added 2% to our Council Tax Bills for earlier in the year or am I getting two different things mixed up ? My understanding was that the extra Council Tax was supposed to directly replace the cuts in Government funded Social Care. I also seem to recall seeing a recent article in one of the National newspapers claiming that Councils were using the extra revenue to fund their own schemes rather than pass it on as intended. Nothing new there then.

[fred c]

He may have found his voice, but The Mail seems to have banned comments again.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/catastrophe-predicted-for-hartlepool-as-abhorrent-funding-cuts-bite-deep-1-8271665

One way to save money is NOT fund criminals hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money and allow them to steal it.

I had a Forest moment & rang the Mail re. Lack of comments on the Wilcox & other articles.

"It is to protect the public from themselves" ......... was the answer I got

[The Great Dictator]

Perfect time now for Riddle to propose banning councillors procuring contracts from the council.

[Alnwickist]

Always find cash for the ego projects and their own pockets.

[Hartlepudlion]

Both the Better Care Fund and the 2% Council Tax precept are supposed to be ring fenced for Adult Care. It is supposed to be ADDED to the Adult Services Budget. I wonder if this is shown in the Adult Services Budget? I don't think the Council know what ring fencing means and how it should be administered. I was told that when the 2% precept was announced CAB remarked that it would pay for the recently increased living wage. A joke? Make your own minds up.