I think there are some activities – health provision being one of them, which we should expect to be provided, regardless of the method of funding – council tax, NI contributions, income tax, whatever. DCC Highways are already funded to maintain basic roads, already have administrators, already have workmen. These are people who, I hope, have the expertise to do their jobs and are paid for it, indirectly, by ourselves. The trouble with using volunteers is that they will do their best no doubt, but without resources or skills or the ability to organise and prioritise the work which needs doing. Eventually, therefore there will come a time when they need money themselves, and have to make decisions about what to do and where to do it – so we will have another layer of funding and undemocratic authority. The rest of us will have no influence over these decisions whilst we are already paying for it, by which time DCC Highways will be able to wash their hands of responsibility. Equally there may be a time when the volunteers die off or are bored and want to do something else with their time. Then what?
There are always opportunities for all of us to usefully aid our neighbours without allowing those who are employed in public service to be deprived of jobs, which is presumably what DCC are trying to achieve, and this follows government initiatives to hive off their obligations to the public.
One Comment
Mandy Hart
I think there are some activities – health provision being one of them, which we should expect to be provided, regardless of the method of funding – council tax, NI contributions, income tax, whatever. DCC Highways are already funded to maintain basic roads, already have administrators, already have workmen. These are people who, I hope, have the expertise to do their jobs and are paid for it, indirectly, by ourselves. The trouble with using volunteers is that they will do their best no doubt, but without resources or skills or the ability to organise and prioritise the work which needs doing. Eventually, therefore there will come a time when they need money themselves, and have to make decisions about what to do and where to do it – so we will have another layer of funding and undemocratic authority. The rest of us will have no influence over these decisions whilst we are already paying for it, by which time DCC Highways will be able to wash their hands of responsibility. Equally there may be a time when the volunteers die off or are bored and want to do something else with their time. Then what?
There are always opportunities for all of us to usefully aid our neighbours without allowing those who are employed in public service to be deprived of jobs, which is presumably what DCC are trying to achieve, and this follows government initiatives to hive off their obligations to the public.