Forum Topic

Did Ealing Council pay for work that wasn't done

We have had over 3 months of poor service from the new contractor who collects our rubbish and recycling and also sweeps our roads. My understanding is that they have 3 months to get it right before the council can impose financial penalties for poor performance. Does this mean that up to now, they have been paid on the basis that the performance was fine. It sounds like it does. If that is the case, does it mean that we paid them on the basis that every street was collected on time every week, and that every road was swept on the day of collection after all our rubbish and recycling was collected, not before.  What have we paid for that we didn't get

Colm Costello ● 5014d18 Comments

So Arthur, how many times do you have to be told??You can't bring up points of History in a Geography lesson.

Eric Alan Leach ● 5011d

Arthur,I understand what you are trying to say. However the topic here is not about whether Colm Costello is Mark Stevens. There is another thread already open in this public forum where you and everyone else who wants to contribute to this very topic can discuss this.

Rosa Popham ● 5011d

Rosa,You don't get it do you? Mark Stevens in his post above of the 14 July talks about his job as a councillor. But we can't find a councillor of that name. Can you? Can't you hypothesize that Colm and Mark are one of the same? Can't you see how wrong that is on all sorts of levels? Are we talking more than one sort of "rubbish" here?

Arthur Breens ● 5011d

The fact that Colm Costello started this thread does not necessarily means that it is not a topic worth discussing.  If you are unhappy to contribute to this thread because he started it, then don’t but don’t stop others from doing so because it is important and it does affect every singe resident in this borough.The fact remains that we all are paying our due to the council through our rates to have our rubbish and recycling collected, our streets cleaned and our parks to be maintained to a certain standards. If they are not then we should be entitled to compensation/rebate if the council cannot guarantee the standard of service we are entitled to receive from it.  Wouldn’t you demand to be compensated if any other company or service provider gives you a sub-standard service rather than the premium service that they committed to and for which you have paid for?   

Rosa Popham ● 5011d

No Rosa,To write here you must abide by the code of conduct. He Costello/Stevens/Colm/Mark started this thread and added to it in another name. Here he must tell us who he is. Is he a man in public office? Or is at least one of his personnas? We expect much higher standards than this and so should you.

Arthur Breens ● 5011d

ROsa£30Mill for pet projects in southall?also 2 car parks? 2 really, its only 1

Charles Asante ● 5011d

Arthur, I believe that your question is irrelevant to this topic. If you really want to know, you should pose the question to him/them directly?

Rosa Popham ● 5011d

Rosa, Would Mark Costello Colm Stevens agree with you? And who is he anyway?

Arthur Breens ● 5012d

Rosie,Central government has nothing to do with Ealing's refuse and recycling service, with how clean/dirty our streets are or whether our parks are properly maintained and looked after. All of these services have been contracted out to Enterprise who receive a handsome sum of money for not doing their job properly. It should have been up to our council's leaders to check aned make sure that proper vehicles were in place at the beginning of the contract; to put pressure on Enterprise management to get roads swept to a high standard and that our parks are properly looked after, as specified in the contract agreement. If Enterprise fails to do what they are paid to do then they should be fined and penalised whenever they don't deliver. Real leadership should be about: to get real value for money for their residents by expecting and demanding from their contractors to deliver a first class service for which they have been paid to do. This is what the previous administration did and we all have seen the results that was achieved in the four years they control Ealing.As for cuts to services, some of which have hit the most vulnerable (both young and old) in our borough, not all of them can be attributed to central government or are not as a direct result of central government funding. The real amount of 'cuts' that this administration has admitted that it needed to make in its first four  year of term is of around £55M and not £85M as it keeps on claiming. The other £30M is being set aside in order for them to spend in their pet projects such as the two car parks for Southall.

Rosa Popham ● 5012d

Hi Colm.. The problem is.. that Ealing Council is getting considerably less money from central government to spend on services. They call it "Austerity Measures" some call it "cuts" there is no point debating minor points., but there is less money in the pot. Out Leader is doing a fine job by not cutting childrens services, and cutting services to those in need, but has however been pushed into a corner, to provide an essential service with limited funds. Perhaps you could negotioate some more money to come from Central Government to the council so we can ask the current contractor to employ some more staff? We have to be realistic and practical andlook to the real reason behind the difference in services.

Rosie Pearce ● 5012d

Oops indeed. Impersonation/false identity/forging signatures/fraud?Oops a daisy; no oops a wacking great big sunflower. So which is it to be Mark Costello or Colm Stevens? And will you all jump together or do we have to report you to the standards committee to encourage them to sack one of you to lay the others to rest. Annemarie may wish to adjudicate before head office offers guidance to Cllr David Millican. A very sorry day for this forum and local democracy.Arthur Breens my real name (photo ID available)

Arthur Breens ● 5013d

Eric for once I agree with youColm has been talkign alot of rubbish recently, I dont mean literallyLook at his blog, hes completely lost the plot, Im surprised his fellow ward residnts can still put up with him.

Charles Asante ● 5013d

Ooops indeed.There is no Mark Stevens listed as an Ealing Council Councillor. Perhaps Mark is a Councillor in another, neighbouring borough. Or is Mark Stevens a non de plume of someone who is an Ealing Councillor?Just why would an Ealing Councillor post on this forum using a false name?As for the content of the 'secret' poster's contribution, I meet people every day who are completely ignorant of the Council's land use plans and when I outline some of the details they are very interested.Mark - please tell us who you are. Or if you won't please post in future using your real name.Thank you.Eric LeachPS My real name

Eric Alan Leach ● 5013d

Ooops!

Tony Wood ● 5014d

EricI think one of the problems you have is you are struggling to understand why everyone isn't as upset as you are about the councils local plan for the next 15 years. You spend a lot of time talking about that, and good luck to you with that. Most people accept the need for housing in Hanwell, and other parts of the borough. You often say the council has not consulted properly, and the evidence is the low numbers who attended the consultation events. There must have been 60 at one I attended in Hanwell, which is low when over 20,000 live in Hanwell. It is hard to understand the indifference, but it is there and you can blame the council all you like. We can't make people interested in the same things you are interested in Eric. As far as Ealing hospital is concerend, I have taken part in that discussion and am encouraging people to also. I have to say that it is a struggle to get people to participate. In the last month, I think two people have contacted me about the hospital. During the elction in May, when I knocked on hundreds of doors, I can honestly say only three people mentioned it to me, one of them was my neighbour. Yesterday, 3 people contacted me about green sacks that have blown away, recycling that is still being thrown into the back of one lorry and one person contacted me to say their kitchen waste hasn't been collected for two weeks. I was at an event at a local school and people there mentioned to me their road was swept on Tuesday, the rubbish was collected thursday. I am contacted nearly every day about this,and I respond. I think you are the one here Eric struggling with reality Eric. People are fuming because they have paid for a service that they have no choice who provides it and the service is poor for 4 months and what can they do about it. It is my job as an opposition cllr to make sure that the council knows what is happening in my ward and keep pressure on them to provide a service that people have paid for. It looks like the council paid for collections that weren't collected, for roads to be swept that weren't swept and that's not right.

Mark Stevens ● 5014d

Eric, whether we like it or not Ealing in particular, and London in general, are in desperate need of housing of all tenures, and for a long time now, as the supply does not meet the demand. If we had more accommodation available people whether legal or illegal immigrants, young or old, single or married would probably not be forced to live like animals in one of those ‘shacks’ at the end of people’s gardens and we would not have the high number of properties we have now as HMOs. You and I - as probably most people contributing to the various posts here - may be OK, we have our houses/flats but there are thousands who would like to live somewhere decent and are unable to do so because there aren’t enough properties to go around and what is available is out of their reach as they cannot afford them. How on earth can someone with a take home pay of around £1,000 per month be able to afford even a room in sheared accommodation when rent and bills are over half what he/she earns?  How many adults children (sometimes with their own family) are unable to move out of the family home not just in Ealing but everywhere else?  And how many parents with grown up children are now downgrading, perhaps moving out of London by taking advantage of the high selling prices from their property just so to help their children to get on the first step of the property ladder? This is reality too!Unfortunately, as long as there are people who seem to be stuck in a time warp, who refuse to accept any change whatsoever, even if it is for the better, then things are only going to get worse – just like our refuse and recycling collections and our dirty roads and unkempt parks – which you, too, pay for as well.

Rosa Popham ● 5014d

We need more Councillors like Mr Costello to fight tooth and nail to get issues like this sorted out most Councillors flit from one issue to the next and never get any of them sorted out if it wasn't for Mr.Costello continually putting pressure on the Council about the state of our streets can you imagine what they would be like now.

Jimmy Carroll ● 5014d

Colm,You are like a record that is stuck in one groove. There is more to quality of life than domestic rubbish collection efficiency and domestic material recycling efficiency.YES - we all accept that the new rubbish and recycling collection service is rubbish. But clearly there are bigger local issues you should be fighting for. The likely closure of Ealing Hospital for one. And what about the Council's development sites plans for Hanwell? You are an elected Councillor there. Are you happy with them? Are you spending time explaining why some buildings are to be demolished? And where exactly in Hanwell will the replacement healthcare facilities be provided in Hanwell when Ealing Hospital closes? And what about the current public consultation on the Council's Local Plan for the next 15 years? Is the Council paying you and other elected Councillors expenses in spite of the fact that you are all doing nothing to explain and instruct your Ward rate payers about these important spatial plans? Surely your motives are not so shallow as to be Party Political. Surely not. Get a grip on reality.

Eric Alan Leach ● 5014d