HERE’S ANOTHER ONE FOR THE TROPHY CABINET

Kieran Quinn’s political writer, together with John Taylor’s ghost writer; whose task it appears is to create at least 10 ‘good news’ stories per week, are surely the gifts that keep on giving!

In one of this week’s stories however, they have written a piece that offers us an insight that is far better than they know!

It concerns the report that Tameside Council’s Operations and green space team has won the LGC (Local Government Chronicle) National Award for Efficiency, which according to Tamesides Press Release, recognises the way the unit has maintained and even improved the work it does despite cuts to its budget in excess of 50%!

Now here again we have yet another example of Kieran struggling with simple arithmetic, because on the LGC website: http://www.lgcplus.com/lgc-awards-2015/efficiency/5082544.article?blocktitle=The-Winners&contentID=18331 

Tameside’s Operations and green space team has actually seen 42% of costs taken from their budget!

Of course, the slant Kieran’s writers have to put on the Press Release in order to maximise our focus on the fact that their funding has been cut, is down to the fact that they are also trying to retain their roll leading the council – there’s a crucial election looming after all!

Despite this however, they declare that there has been no reduction in the standard of street cleansing, grounds maintenance, countryside, arboriculture or horticultural services.

They put this down to the fact that the Operations and green space team now work much more closely with ‘community partners’ which, they say, has brought it closer to residents and made it more responsive to their needs.

Then we get the obligatory comment from ‘Spongebob’ who said, He was delighted, but by no means surprised that the Operations and green space team had received national recognition through the LGC Awards, and went on to say, ‘Although the Government will have halved this authority’s funding by 2017 we never stop looking to improve services and meet the needs of residents and businesses.’

Well, not for the last 5 years anyway. Because prior to the Coalition Government cutting council  funding, Tameside council would have carried on spending more and more money, building their ‘little empires’ whilst their inefficiency and neglect; which has brought parts of the borough to its present decaying condition, would have continued unabated to this day.

Does anyone not find it strange that since the end of the 'culture of profligacy' practised by the debt ridden Labour government of Gordon Brown and the tough cost cutting policies of the Coalition; that all of a sudden, council’s up and across the country faced with organisational changes and economic challenges, all at once have seen fit to embark on ambitious, innovative and extremely effective new approaches to running their services?

An now, having discovered ‘business efficiency’- an ethos that thousands of private sector businesses have been practising for years; our council, by inference, openly admits that for over 30 years they have not been spending money efficiently and now they have been forced to find more efficient ways to deliver the same services, they waste no time in slapping each other on the back by giving each other ‘prestigious ‘awards!

The LGA Awards judges added: “The Tameside Council team gave an inspiring presentation and showed they are a good example of moving forward despite tough economic conditions. They have not only made financial savings, but actually improved residents’ lives.”

Well its taken them long enough! - However, before we break out the champagne, one should be aware that our council’s progress in this latest competition for public sector performance was purely measured relative to that of 9 other councils and not relative to its own past performance.

You might also be interested to learn that missing from the 'Press Release’ was the fact that Tameside MBC were also entered into 4 other categories in the LGC awards, namely: Community Involvement, Environment, Housing and Public Health. 

In these categories they came nowhere!