Somerset - worse potholes coming soon

[cycle tramp]

With the new unitary Somerset Council less than 12 months old and a fairly large 111k hole in next year's budget, Somerset Council will be cutting its road maintenance budget - again, despite a possible planned 10% increase in council tax across the whole of the county..

..With the general election looming, anyone affected by this may want to write to their mp about the situation...

[Pinhead]

I agree it is not good but my concerns are NHS, employment, housing, rather than potholes

[cycle tramp]

I agree it is not good but my concerns are NHS, employment, housing, rather than potholes

..I can see your point but the reason for the lack of public services and increase in council tax is due to the continuing restrictions on financial support from central government to local authorities...
..for example, why aren't care home placements supported through NHS trusts rather than through council tax?

(My other concerns are food security, protection of habitats, clean energy production, and the implementation of a proportional representation system - however if you ride a carbon fibre bike - you are be concerned about the decrease in the maintenance of roads)

[rjb]

Take care you're heading into a black hole there, or a lake down on the levels .
Happy new year.
BTW the A361 main road from Taunton to Glastonbury has flooded and the flood gates have been closed to prevent access.
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-trave ... ure-gates/

[Pinhead]

I agree it is not good but my concerns are NHS, employment, housing, rather than potholes

..I can see your point but the reason for the lack of public services and increase in council tax is due to the continuing restrictions on financial support from central government to local authorities...
..for example, why aren't care home placements supported through NHS trusts rather than through council tax?

(My other concerns are food security, protection of habitats, clean energy production, and the implementation of a proportional representation system - however if you ride a carbon fibre bike - you are be concerned about the decrease in the maintenance of roads)

I have autism, the NHS used to run (for FOUR YEARS) first a face to face group, once a month that's all, for people like me, a sort of get together, tea etc, up to 20 of us and a SS person, then covid, they moved it to ZOOM, so just 8 people last October we all received a letter) we are closing the once a month two hour ZOOM meeting due to finances ?

One staff member 2 hours a month.

Now NO autistic person in Ceredigion, Carmarthen or Aberystwyth. Because of this I have started this

https://www.facebook.com/groups/336032735843023/ and this https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553859953971

They both cost me £80 out of my own NHS pension every month, I have to buy the tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits, I asked the local Carmarthen GREGS if they could help with 50 disposable paper cups, NO.

I can't even get travel or money for cakes/biscuits the Council won't help BUT DO send people to it

I am now an unpaid health worker, DON'T GET ME WRONG I LOVE IT, I meet people but there is more to it than NO rudeness intended, potholes

[PH]

We have to be careful to lay the blame where it belongs and it's a mainstay of Tory policy to disguise where that is. It's win-win for the Government, they pull the strings and councillors get the blame. The 2024 LA financial settlement is below inflation and assumes the authorities will raise Council Tax by the maximum permitted, which the Government also set. Even with the maximum settlement and highest CT raise, there's still a huge gap, don't blame the councils for that.
We shouldn't be arguing social care V's road maintenance, councils shouldn't have to decide one or the other, we live in a country wealthy enough for both and in many cases not spending where it's required is a false economy.

[fastpedaller]

Indeed, but if the Councils are short of money THEY should be lobbying central government to get more - it's THEIR job, not ours. The general public are the victims (lack of services) who pay for all the services. If Gov don't have enough money maybe they should stop squandering it on legal advice on behalf of the Post Office denying convinced SPM's of their rightful justice and compensation. Has nobody a backbone any more?

[Bonzo Banana]

The reality is we are a very poor country nowadays with huge debts. People keep claiming we are rich and maybe some are but generally as a country there is about £150k of debt/liabilities on every head and this has to be serviced. Same as local councils who have extreme debts to service. It's pointless to pretend you can live well without industry and without a trade surplus plus for 40 years we sent huge sums abroad and were locked to a trading area where sterling was far too high valued to be competitive.

It's utterly pointless to pretend central government will provide more money. People are exporting most of their wages it seems on foreign goods and services which is why borrowing is so high and we have huge debts. People do as they like creating huge economic damage and then they complain the government can't perform some sort of miracle to correct that economic damage. I just think we are gradually moving towards an IMF bailout and a huge financial crunch and services like the NHS will be much reduced for perhaps 50 years or more.

Even when we start to sort ourselves out there will be 50 years or more of pain to payback all these debts. We have become an economically illiterate country it seems with people in some sort of delusionary state where we can have a huge trade deficit and other export payments and yet expect to live well.

[fastpedaller]

One question I keep meaning to ask...... if we have huge debt who are our Creditors?

[Pinhead]

The problem is that the general public are made to pay, either literally or figuratively.

I am almost begging for help from any source I can think of for £30 a month to hire a private room in the library for our group, the council say they can't help

Mind you I do wonder why the library can't let us have it for 2 hours a month free !!

[fastpedaller]

The problem is that the general public are made to pay, either literally or figuratively.

I am almost begging for help from any source I can think of for £30 a month to hire a private room in the library for our group, the council say they can't help

Mind you I do wonder why the library can't let us have it for 2 hours a month free !!

Indeed... If it's otherwise empty, why don't they?

[rareposter]

Mind you I do wonder why the library can't let us have it for 2 hours a month free !!

Because the library also have no money due to funding cuts. If they're not using a room they can lock it up, turn the lighting and heating off and leave it.
If it's being used (through hiring it out to you) then it needs lighting, heating, cleaning afterwards, there's probably some power usage... And none of that is free.

It should be, yes! Especially for vulnerable/minority groups, charities and so on. But central Government have slashed all the funding for councils and that has been passed down the chain to front line services.

Indeed, but if the Councils are short of money THEY should be lobbying central government to get more - it's THEIR job, not ours.

They do - the irony is that much of the funding now comes as grants which need to be applied for so councils have had to employ more people (or use expensive consultants) to write grant-fund applications so they can actually get the money they need. And they can't afford to be paying that sort of money cos they're all skint!
And all the time Government are acting like they're marking homework - oh that grant application wasn't well written, you only get half what you asked for.

[oldgit]

this country is nothing more than a third world country now, decades of decay will not be addressed by the self serving puppets masquerading as politicians, things will never change until the people wake up and start to build guillotines, changing from one party to another that is exactly the same will never bring change, it will only make things much worse.

there is more than enough money to make things so much better for everybody, there just lacks the political will or inclination to do so, and why should they when they can simply steal what they like without any accountability, you wont find any mp wearing gloves and a hat inside just to keep warm cos you cannot afford heating.

the whole rotten political system needs bringing into this century, its way over due.....oh wait,,,,something something small boats....carry on.




.

[Bonzo Banana]

One question I keep meaning to ask...... if we have huge debt who are our Creditors?

That's a very easy question to answer really except there are so many debts and liabilities to list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Ki ... ional_debt

https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/pictu ... per_person

Remember though its not just simple debts which may be bonds are other borrowing its also I think to a greater degree public sector pensions where no money has been put back for these often hugely generous pensions and so come out of day to day taxation. Also have to remember running a trade deficit for decades means sterling is held abroad which entitles those countries that own sterling to goods and services so they can buy assets with sterling which further weakens our economy.

One indication of economic health is the net international investment position. Which shows which countries have assets abroad and which have liabilities and of course sadly the UK has liabilities with more assets foreign owned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_inter ... t_position

There is no question at all sadly that the UK is bankrupt and pretty much heading for an IMF bailout as our debt and liability payments are getting more and more crippling. The government is still borrowing money even now adding to the debt pile.

[mattheus]

this country is nothing more than a third world country now, decades of decay will not be addressed by the self serving puppets masquerading as politicians, things will never change until the people wake up and start to build guillotines, changing from one party to another that is exactly the same will never bring change, it will only make things much worse.

there is more than enough money to make things so much better for everybody, there just lacks the political will or inclination to do so, and why should they when they can simply steal what they like without any accountability, you wont find any mp wearing gloves and a hat inside just to keep warm cos you cannot afford heating.

the whole rotten political system needs bringing into this century, its way over due.....oh wait,,,,something something small boats....carry on.

Yes, it's a puzzle where the money goes, isn't it ...