| Talk about rubbish, there are two ways of paying for services, there is the accepted sensible way, via the council tax or there is paying for services that once were covered by the council tax so you can crow about how you are preserving frontline services whilst keeping the council tax at the same level. Once you could get an old fridge or freezer taken away for no fee, since the charge of 25 pounds was introduced there has been a corresponding increase in dumping, similarly it is commonplace to see old sofas, baths, etc. dumped since the previous small fee to get these and other large items taken away underwent a big hike. At the same time the enforcement and investigation of dumping has all but disappeared because so many of the staff who did the work were given their marching orders, on the dubious advice of consultants who cost us all millions. There is no longer a school psychology service, the language service in schools will all but disappear, and don't try paying bills at the civic centre unless you get there before 12 o/c, as the counter shuts then, whereas it used to be open all day. Unless Mr. Giles has poor sight he could not fail to notice the sorry state of Hounslow High St. which is like a tip due to the contracting of the cleansing out to the cheapest bid, and the weeds in many residential roads are appalling. There is no way you can keep council tax held down and say it doesn't affect frontline services, it does. When services are paid for in the council tax they are used, when people are confronted with paying out yet more money such as paying through the nose to have an old fridge removed they just don't want to know, this affects us all and in the long run just costs more, it is a false economy, and it is disingenuous to say the least, to pretend there were hundreds of people lounging around the civic centre doing nothing and that life is just so hunky-dory now. Typical Tory b/s, aided and abetted by the ICG think tank, they obviously know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. |