Philippa, you really are a prejudiced individual.‘If you walk down a street instead of just getting into a car and whizzing off in your own little bubble you would appreciate this. You are also more likely to see, greet and chat to neighbours.’ I walk everywhere locally, and see and hear a lot of what goes on. Keep your stupid cognitive bias for your own family, eh?You are incorrect to say council tax is only spent on social care. Yes, that’s a large proportion of it (and I think that central government should be funding that entirely), but areas such as waste collection, highways and other services are also funded from this tax. I’m sure you can find a link to help enlighten you.You missed the point about Bell’s council tax freeze. He chose not to make modest increases year on year to keep things running, preferring to blame the Coalition and the Tory governments. A handy thing to put in his taxpayer funded propaganda sheet Around Ealing. I said about the consequences of this at the time, and subsequently, and it means bigger increases now for everyone at a time when household budgets are further squeezed.You keep wittering on about garden waste. Most residents who could afford to were happy to pay the subscription. That’s changed this year because the rate increases and the service was reduced by a third, hardly value for money. Still, we get value for money with those increased allowances for councillors.Here’s a link showing what they pick up for making those open, honest and transparent decisions: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/2551/members_allowances_scheme.pdfIf you think we have sensible people running things then you must be deluded. The Council has its Broadway Living development arm, with a £400m loan (guaranteed by Ealing taxpayers). It’s supposed to deliver (allegedly) genuinely affordable homes across the borough. Since its inception in 2014 it has completed just 93.Yes, in a decade Broadway Living has built just 93 homes. And you wonder why there’s a housing crisis.The latest figures for the business don’t make pleasant reading either:Period Ended 31 Mar 2024For period 31 Mar ⟶ 31 Mar 2024Traded for 12 monthsCash in Bank£1.14MIncreased by £787K (+220%)Turnover£802KIncreased by £379K (+90%)EmployeesUnreportedSame as previous periodTotal Assets£31.45MIncreased by £1.95M (+7%)Total Liabilities-£37.7MIncreased by £7.68M (+26%)Net Assets-£6.25MDecreased by £5.73M (+1093%)Debt Ratio (%)120%Increased by 18.09% (+18%)If it wasn’t for the council pumping money in this business would have collapsed years ago.Think about that when your next increased council tax bill hits the doormat.
Simon Hayes ● 242d