| Well of course that's the point that the government and to a lesser degree a lot of the public like to overlook. Somewhere along the line services have to be paid for, the question is what is the most cost-effective way? My view is that councils have massive purchasing power so providing services collectively is best, the rub is that kidding people that you've kept the council tax down conveniently overlooks all those other charges. The money has to come from somewhere - us - as taxpayers usually, I don't see this obsession with 'outsourcing' has saved anything, in-house services to my mind have always been the best option. Difficult when you have a government who see private as best and public as an abomination, and the lesson really is in home care, private companies are in it for profit not for providing what people need and want. |