Saturday 27 June 2009

Tories abandon the vulnerable


Whilst David Cameron tries to convince the public that the Conservatives have changed and are ready for Government, Mike Freer proves that, in Barnet at least, the Tories remain the nasty party.


On 6th July 2009, the Cabinet will be revising the corporate plan for 2008/09 - 2012/13. Paragraph 9.2 states:
The previous ‘supporting the vulnerable’ priority theme has been changed to ‘promoting independence’.
So there we have it. The official line from Barnet is “We’re not looking after you any more. You are on your own”.

Just as Labour MPs bottled it when they had a chance to get rid of their useless and incompetent leader (who was similarly not elected Leader by the public) so Barnet’s Conservative councillors appear to be ready to head lemming-like into the political abyss because they won’t stand up to Freer and put an end to this nonsense.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually no it doesn't mean "you are on your own"... do you believe that because you get to 60 you should be shoved in a home? Or do you think that if able, you should remain in your own home and therfore INDEPENDANT but if you need a bit of support you can have the help of a warden? Umm...

Bit of a tip - try READING an actual document instead of picking out sentences to do down the work of Barnet Council, to be frank it is quite pathetic, whatever it is get over it.

Citizen Barnet said...

Very good observation, David. You do us all a service combing through this stuff.

I never got involved in local politics in the past, but now that I have I am finding that it takes just a little scrutiny to unearth all sorts of unpleasantness.

The labels the council puts on its policies might seem like a small thing, but speak volumes.

What they are going to say they have to do because of the budget squeeze they still can't resist spinning as a good thing. The 'safety net' which up to now all parties did not mind saying was necessary will now be rebranded as... oh, I don't know, a comfort blanket?

Don't Call Me Dave said...

Anon

Your boombastic contribution to the warden debate would carry greater weight if you had the guts to reveal your identity.

I am at a loss to understand your comment about “shoving” people over 60 into a home. I am not aware of anyone ever suggesting such a thing. That is not what this debate is about. It is about a council withdrawing the warden service from people who already live in residential care homes. These residents were led to believe that they would be provided with a warden service and it has now been taken away from them.

The council simply has no mandate for such a course of action. I have written previously as to where they could make alternative efficiency savings to allow the warden service to continue in its present form but unfortunately the council’s contempt for the public is such that they will not ever consider other people’s ideas. How dare we mere mortals ever have an opinion.

Of course, the council should make every effort to support people who are willing and able to live independently in their own homes, but for many residents, a care home is the only viable option. In the coming years, with greater life expectancy, the numbers requiring residential care will increase still further.

Barnet Council, like so many others, wastes hundreds of thousands of Pounds each year on bureaucracy, inflated salaries and non essential services. It is time taxpayers money was spent on the services taxpayers want. If you can’t handle that concept Anon, you shouldn’t be in public service.