The definition of competent?

Knowing if someone is still alive or if they sadly are no longer with us, that would be a pretty definitive test as to if an organisation is competent or not?

Following on from an email conversation that we’ve just been forwarded it would appear that in that case Greenwich Council have failed this test, as a message was sent out to large number of people informing them that sadly someone had recently passed away, after a few hours a second message was sent out to say that in fact they had not passed away.

Following on from this, the Lib Dem Leader asked for an explanation, Cllr Chris Roberts then weighed in to say that “mistakes can be made” but “the matter is now closed” without an explanation. John Austin MP for Eirth and Thamesmead, replayed to say that an explanation should be given. Cllr Chris Roberts still has not given an explanation but has at least, but perhaps for the first time said, that any blame is his.

If anyone has any more details on how this mistake happened then do share. However we will not be naming the poor individual directly affected by this, as given this momentous mistake they have already suffered enough. We do feel however that those responsible for such a mistake should at least come clean as to how it happened.

Some answers on "Green, Blue, Black"

After finally getting our hands on the members questions from last months Council meeting it would like there were only 7,162 properties which did not have there bins emptied because they contained the wrong sort of rubbish in them. But that's not all, as there were also "2,000 green bins, 600 black bags and 400 nappies not collected in error." So at least now we know. These figures were just for the first week of the new rubbish collection plans. So who knows what it is up to now.

If anyone had problems getting though to Cleansweep to complain about the uncollected nappies smelling we the reason would be that there were over 20,665 calls to Cleansweep in January, Decembers was 7,306 for the whole month. So it looks like they were busy.

From what we've heard the only only thing of interest was the presentation by the NHS of the new service (cuts), that are being made to the hospitals that Greenwich people use.

Apparently the only thing of amusement was the Dynamic Duo attempting to justify the motion about nappies, or should that be motions in nappies? Either way one of the Councillors apparently asked them if they would like to collect their child's used nappies, as a sort of Lib Dem trial, to show everyone how it would work, before the Council took a proper decision on it. Well perhaps they wouldn't leave 400 nappy bags uncollected?

It's official; politician's talk s#!t

Having finally got our hands on a copy of this months' Council agenda one of the first things we normally look at is the Motions, mostly because they are on the first page. Something was a little different this time though, namely that all three of the political parties on Greenwich Council decided to put a motion in, normally it is just the Tories and Lib Dems as Labour is able to put on the agenda whatever it likes.

This time the lucky members of the public who decide to give up their evening to go along can look forward to the Tories talking about the London Bubble Theatre's lack of funding, Labour on the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change and finally the Lib Dems talking about used nappies. Yep that's right, in the same meeting as such heavyweight topics as Single Status proposals which could see the council forking out over £20m to council employees and a presentation about local health service cuts the Lib Dems' Dynamic Duo thought that time would best be spent on this;

Motion Signed by Councillors Paul Webbewood and Brian Woodcraft

The Council already encourages reusable nappies as an environmentally friendly alternative to disposables. Council now wishes to follow the example of many other local authorities and provide new mothers with a financial incentive to use reusable nappies. Council asks the Cabinet Member for Greener Greenwich [nb. Cllr Sidhu] to bring forward proposals for a local scheme, based on best practice elsewhere, by the end of the current financial year.

You could argue that depending on the amount of Rusks the nippers have eaten this could be the heavyweight topic they were hoping for, but its unlikely. Alternatively perhaps this is in preparation for the orange bags full of used nappies that haven't been picked up over the last couple of weeks.