You all have a vote, why not take the opportunity and use it?

With an average turnout of 26% at the last (200icon_cool.gif local elections, it appears that the people of Hull get the council they deserve

There's certainly plenty of waste in local government, but I think people are linking two unconnected issues. There's no evidence to suggest that savings in other areas would have resulted in better gritting/clearing of roads - the money simply won't get spent there due to the relative infrequency of weather as bad as we've had recently. Gritting/clearing is no worse now than it ever has been in my experience. We've just had far worse weather this winter which has thrown it into sharp relief.

Of course, if priorities are changed and everyone decides that we [ido[/i want to spend more cash on better equipment and larger stocks of grit and salt then there should be plenty of opportunity to fund a substantial chunk of it through efficiency/cost savings.

If you are referring to having a vote in Hull then I don't get one living in Staffordshire.



Fair point. My point was more aimed at a national level.

Yes like I say I agreed with your specific point about gritting. There is evidence that national government ignored advice from both motoring organisations and local government regarding lessons to be learned from last year's shortages. As for efficiency savings in the public sector, they are required because the country is essentially bankrupt and not because we need more salt.

Maybe you should have a less ambiguous username.




The same thing applies nationally. It's the elected representatives that make the decisions on salaries and spending priorities, central government just sets global budget limits. If folk want changes in the way these authorities are run - and I don't know anybody who doesn't - then they need to engage in the democratic process and vote out the wasters in charge.

They didn't ignore it, they made the mistake of relying on local authorities to follow recommendations. Which ties in with my point about local democracy above.

The Highways Agency stocked twice the recommended amount of salt, which is why the motorways and trunk roads have been in better nick than local roads. The various councils decided to go with the minimum possible and have been caught out.

Can't argue with your last point.

If you do that I can promise you that my desk will be swamped with letters demanding we guarantee that the floods of 2007 are "never allowed to happen again" the second there is a little bit of rain. (Along with everything else that must "never happen again", and all the roads that must always be perfectly lit, cleaned, surfaced, the full length of east riding costal defences that some people think can be magicked out of thin air etc etc etc. All a wonderful idea, but when it comes to paying for it people tend to get upset about that aswell.

Thread drift or what.......wonder which one of the 2 mods causing the drift will lock it 1st.

If the match was in danger..something would have been reported by now....so stop the council bitching and get it back on topic.....if it was of us lowly oinks doing so..you would soon tell us.

You need to get yourself in the cuddle club mate.

On the weather front.

No amount of salt would have prevented or helped last Friday in Hull, it was a combination of things coming together to cause it.

A very heavy snowfall

Everyone decided to leave work early as one

To many inexperienced driver not knowing how to drive in the conditions.

We have not had anything like that for 30 odd years and sure local councils have cut back on salt stocks, equipment etc. Years ago they used ex military equipment converted bought in cheap now these machines are state of the art designed for the job of course there are less of them. We prepare for winter using the least we can feel we can get away with and that includes every driver. In other countries vehicles have to be fitted with special winter tryes by a certain time in Autumn, imagine the uproar if they had to do that here every year.

Council vehiles used to be multi functional once as well, dustcarts doubled up as snow ploughs as well they are to expensive and specialised now. We may not get another winter like this for another 30 years or it may happen every year for the next ten. We had a once in a 200 hundred year flood a couple of years ago do we spend a fortune on massive flood defences now.

You can not prepare or spent for everything without pots of cash to burn

1.Do not mention the cuddle club
2.Do not mention the cuddle club
3.Do not mention the cuddle club

Just the reply i expected tbh.

I'm always happy to fulfil expectations.



Can't remember the last time we locked a thread purely because of drift, especially during the off season. And the drift wasn't started by a Mod, either.

Was it me ? Sorry drifted off there.

I do enjoy a bit of thread drift, but I do have a genuine appeal for info on this. Can't see the game being off for weather reasons, but does anyone know whether the Walton Street car park will be out of action, and if so will there be extra park and ride buses on?

What about commercial delivery in profitable private and quoted companies? Are you suggesting that delivery of service and efficiency are mutually exclusive? Fact is that pretty much every facet of local and national government is hugely over staffed, hugely inefficient and hugely wasteful of tax payers money. I know people who work for the council who think they've had a busy day if they've only had a couple of hours to chat to their mates

Just do as im doing........sit in house and listen on radio....jobs a good un.

Why would the game be cancelled just because Walton Street (or even just the car park) is closed?

Remember, we had a play off game in 2006 whilst Hull Fair was on and had a 16,000 attendance.

Staffordshire is no different. Apart from the Peak areas, the rest of the county had run down salt stocks simply because of historical experience. If they needed more, given Staffordshire's close proximity to the UK's largest source of road salt, they'd have every opportunity. The only thing stopping them is a lack of resource, financial and vehicle. Most of Staffordshire CC's gritters are Mercedes 4x4 18 tonnes trucks, I know because I supplied them for years. It would be virtually impossible to find a cost-effective use for these vehicles at any other time of the year. In fact, the only time I had known them to be utilised was during freak hot weather, when they were sent out to spread sand & grit onto melting tarmac.

All councils must now show more than just good husbandry in their finances and as I said earlier, wasting money on unnecessary salt stocks, wouldn't help them at all.

As I said to Kosh I don't disagree re the salting issue.

I do however think that Joe 'Private Sector' Public in particular sees councils, and other public bodies for that matter, wasting money on unnecessary middle and high management positions and wonders whether his ever increasing Council Tax bill is getting him the best value for money. It's inevitable that when the councils fail to deliver a service, even if it is almost impossible to do so such has been the case for salting, Joe vents his frustration.

Wanna know what's bumping up your council tax? When you get your bill, over the next couple of months, take a close look at the Staffs Police precept, especially the pension provision.

Personally I think they should be bulk buying cat litter. That way, in the event of another 1 in 30 year winter not happening again next year us cat owners could be paid back, while reducing the crapping in next doors garden incidents (the cat, not me or the wife)... everybodies happy! Problem solved.

Already done the investigation thanks. But it aint just their pension provision