Partnership Working - The Sop for Swindon's Budget Cuts

Whether it's the Big Conversation, or the One Swindon Partnership, Swindon Borough Council seems eager to keep making a lot of getting by with very little.

In the run-up to the 2010 General Election, much was made of how government departments and agencies would need to work closer, sharing budgets, staff, equipment and more as budget cuts were coming. This policy was embraced strongly by Swindon Borough Council with both arms, as they rushed to work out how to save £15 million from one year to the next. Much was made of moving the council towards just being an 'enabler' (which sounds creepy) that would let contracts to companies to do all the jobs the local authority had previously carried out.

Another main plank was getting departments of the council, it's 'partners' (mainly it's hugely contracted-to-do-everything Capita and Swindon Commercial Services) and even, in the longer term, other neighbouring local authorities, to work in partnership to provide service and projects.

It seems even nearly 4 years later, if the word 'partnership' can be tacked onto anything, no matter how unnecessary the service or project, it's elevated to a solid level of respectability. However there's a big problem that's now being hit and that's money.

Getting departments and organisations to get to know each other and build up local knowledge is fine and should be encouraged, but trying to squeeze the same amount of productivity as pre-2010 from a council that has mostly part-time staff, tiny departments and have lost much of their local knowledge is trying to simply deny the simple truth.

If you want greater productivity and a council that plans properly for the future, we need to spend money on it. Otherwise all that'll be left is a person manning a telephone desk and a warehouse full of orange paint.

Are their any councillors arguing for investment into council manpower? Strategies and partnerships don't empty the bins.

Swindon's Buses : Our Local Councillors' Political Panic Room

If you catch the bus in Swindon, whether it's Stagecoach, Thamesdown, Wilts and Dorset, or even National Express, you may not have realised that your method of transport has become a political safe ground for the town's politicians.

Since the reduction in bus subsidy locally by Swindon Borough Council and the reduction in the Bus Service Operator Grant, the attitude of councillors towards this method of transport has become something to observe.

But even back in May 2010, we got an early warning of what was to come in terms of councillors attitude (http://swindoncentric.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/omnibus-obfuscation.html).

However, after the cutting of carparking charges in the town centre and the rise in people walking through the town centre, those two events were linked as cause and effect. Something that was not taken into account included businesses taking car parking spaces for their employees (that would also show up as a 'shopper' in the council view of things, with an office worker walking past the cameras recording the numbers whilst doing their Monday to Friday '9 to 5') and the number of 'shoppers' traveling to and from the town centre by bus (or indeed train).

Why was the effect of bus travel on town centre footfall not distinguished? It could be the love-hate relationship that Swindon Borough Council appear to have with their own bus company, Thamesdown Transport. Don't forget, the council own Thamesdown Transport. Love, because in the good times, it can generate a welcomed income for the council and the fallback is always available of selling TT if things get really bad and we build even more roads to nowhere at Wichelstowe and we suddenly have to really pay for them. And hate because councillors can (and indeed have been doing a lot recently) of faux outrage when TT announce a proposed change to a bus route to keep themselves in the black. 

These route changes wouldn't be needed if Swindon Borough Council hadn't decided to cut it's bus subsidy in half from £400,000 to £200,000 to balance it's books. What's made worse is that councillors continue to play politics as they 'battle' to save services that everyone knows don't have a hope in hell's chance of lasting commercially because there aren't enough passengers.

But instead of explaining that the only way to keep them running is to put council subsidy into them, councillors rally against the bus companies (including Thamesdown, which the council and therefore every single taxpayer in Swindon owns) and blame the big bad bus companies!

So once and for all, Swindon councillors, stop cutting bus subsidies for unprofitable routes and then blaming the bus company when they can't make it pay it's way with a handful of passengers a day and need to close it.

The town, it's bus passengers and especially all those staff at Thamesdown Transport deserve better transport politics than using the bus as your political safe ground.

Arse!

At least in the Swindon Twitter storm, this wasn't said.

Wi-Failed : Double-Feature Coming Soon!

The accounts of Swindon's drunken dalliance with the money black-hole Digital City (they promised to bring us all free wi-fi and unlock a money-making machine and, well, it didn't happen, but they did spend all their money, but on what exactly?) will soon be published.

Get. The. Popcorn.

Superfast Wi-Fi Cover Is Here

That's right! After ages of waiting, the ultimate flack cover for the pesky business deal that went south is now here.

It'll resemble the first deal in nearly no respects, but because of it's flexible ability to be spun in any direction required, this non-feature will never be noticed (subject to beta testing). That's right, don't delay, call today and order your superfast broadband flack cover!

By The Numbers on Honda and BMW

A statistical analysis of North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson's weekly column from the Swindon Advertiser about the Honda news.

Frequency of works and phrases within the column -

I = 4

We = 7

Investment = 6

Manufacturing = 4

Debt = 1

Reckless = 1

Financial Sector = 1

Our = 5

Skilled = 2

Jobs = 2

Recession = 0

By The Numbers on Croft School

A statistical analysis of Swindon Borough Council Leader Rod Bluh's weekly column from the Swindon Advertiser in which he defends the construction of the new Croft Primary School.

Frequency of words and phrases within the column -

I = 4

We = 7

OFSTED = 1

Children = 5

Class Solutions = 0

Business Opportunity = 0

Consultation = 0

Cost Overrun = 0

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 249

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. That foot of yours will have to go.

9. I see no reason we can't have pasta tonight. But I'd prefer a curry.

8. Your afternoon has been rather terrifying.

7. She was asked to return after it had gone back to it's usual size.

6. Mousy, tousled, that type of thing.

5. There's no internal dialogue, I mean I did have my earphones on at that point.

4. Less is very much more, but only on spec.

3. There's no philosophy connected with it, it's just money-grabbing.

2. He's a lot smaller, but that does make him quicker in several respects.


And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. Your teeth can't itch, it's the same rubbish people talk about having your heart in your mouth, unless you're eating haggis.

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 248

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. This was totally what he warned me would happen even without me sleeping with him.

9. Let me just test out that theory on my thighs, I'll see how I get on.

8. It's an original jumper before they started moving production to Asia and everything was made out of crumbly thread.

7. Round up those paper-thin people from accounts and get them drunk.

6. Zaha is that woman I use to go to zumba with before she got thin.

5. It's not a new one, but it will do I suppose.

4. Imagine for a minute I care about what you're saying, just for a minute.

3. You can't brag about those shoes, look at them, they're not fit to be seen in the dark in.

2. No potatoes have gone up and I'm always at a loose end with them.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. I can't prove the moon orbits the earth, but like Mike and his wandering eyes, I know it happens.

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Reinventing the Portakabin

The discussions about the Croft School centre on one fact that has not been clearly established.

Has Swindon Borough Council built an unnecessary school in a district that didn't need one with decisions that were influenced by it's commercial interests in the building methods of the structure?

Swindon Centric Says ; As today's Swindon Advertiser editorial comment says, "It would be nice if the people who paid for the school were deemed important enough to be told the truth".

More about Class Solutions (the modular school building design that Croft is the testbed for) and whether it smells of Digital City in a future post.

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 247

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. He needs to be kept in check, follow him at lunchtime.

9. It won't be as easy as you make out.

8. I'm not telling you what to tell him, I'm just giving my side of the story.

7. Not very flattering, but I can't understand why you're that bothered by it all.

6. Does Sarah have a coloured baby? Does she have a brown baby?

5. Well I can't do that with these swollen fingers, can I?

4. There are no legal grounds for it's suppression.

3. Steam it open, no one will know, or care.

2. Starting a war is never a business growth move in telesales.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. She looked like she'd have been happier sitting in a chair, with a damp cloth on a her face and someone rubbing her feet.

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 246

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. It's character building, like divorce.

9. They're brothers but everyone knows he was adopted, meanwhile he was an accident.

8. Everyone had to deal with sore balls, until you get that cream.

7. It's worth £4 each, or 2 for £8.

6. Forget bonding, I had a cracking night on my own with a takeaway.

5. His flat is all well and good, but you can't retire on it can you?

4. There's fire in it, but that might just be the lactic acid.

3. You've never used the word 'medaled' before.

2. Put Sarah down, she does not want to be moved like that.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1.Dressage? Dressage? No idea what it is, but I'm drawn to watch it.

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Sunday Satire

Just a bit of fun.

The Councillor Scorecard

The engagement of residents in local politics is something that only often reaches a critical mass on single-issues.

What will it take to engage people day-to-day?

This question sits uncomfortably alongside that of the effectiveness and efficiency of local councillors. As Swindon Centric has talked about, too often local councillors consist of a wide-range of abilities, motivations and interpersonal skills. A way to get councillors who only seem to surface from their sleep at election time is to make them take ownership of their ward.

Why not create a scorecard for each ward, using some simple housekeeping targets? What percentage of streetlights don't work? The level of cleanliness, with scores for graffiti, litter, dumped rubbish, the quality of street furniture and more. Councillors would not be set targets, but monthly totals could be kept and be easily accessible via the Swindon Borough Council website. This would make councillors be responsible (truly take ownership) for 'their patch', would get them out on the streets of the voters who they represent and would give them first hand 'shop-front' experience of reporting defective services and see that report through to the problem being resolved.

This would not be a replacement for residents reporting problems themselves, but many people do not seem to even know they can report a raft of issues for quick fixes, especially the Council's Streetsmart service simply and quickly by phone and email.

Swindon Centric Says ; This would truly give residents the ability to see how committed councillors are to their wards.

UPDATED : I'd like to see a set of figures each month covering those 'basic standards' (percentage of working street lights, graffiti tags logged and cleaned, rubbish dumping logged and cleared, etc). The onus would be put on councillors that they should take an active role in reporting these and reducing them in their wards, walking a 'beat' and noting down what needs doing and reporting it to Streetsmart for rectifying.

The community clean-up days we see most wards have occurring once a year gets councillors a nice shot of publicity, but this type of 'roll up your sleeves' should be a daily, second-nature attitude. Keeping a tally on the 'housekeeping' in each ward would give an indication as to how active your councillor is.

The Whalebridge Breaks the Surface

The entire top surface of the Whalebridge junction has been removed months after it was laid following the removal of the junction roundabout.

Why?

We've seen the traffic queues, the diverting of traffic round the court, the non-finishing off of grass verges, the inconsistent pedestrian crossing standards with lack of buttons and the piss-poor light phasing. Yet nothing has been done about this.

But now we see the tarmac surface and all road markings gone, why? Was it poorly laid?

Swindon Centric Says ; Get someone from Serco to re-phase the lights, scatter some grass seed in the muddy verges, put pelican crossings in all of the crossings points, not just some and until the regrading of Fleming Way starts, allow all traffic to turn west into Fleming Way from Whalebridge.

The entire population of 209,000 people will be entirely thankful.

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 245

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. I suspect you're right, but will pretend you're wrong.

9. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.

8. Just 'cos you've got a smartcard, don't act like it's a gold-plated iPad.

7. Yeah but she's a slapper, the whole street knows it, they've all had her.

6. Have you seen Burn Notice? I stream them online, totally illegal but it's quicker than waiting for them.

5. I've done four of these already, want to swap?

4. I smacked her in the mouth, I didn't use my fists, I used my sarcasm.

3. Try seeing what the cuts will do to their I.T. department, less screens and attitude from them for a start.

2. Stare right down there and you can see all the way to the top of the hill.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. They've got the heating on, are they trying to kill me or grow tomatoes?

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Top Ten Things Overheard On Swindon's Buses (Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last, Last) Last Week ; 244

Click here for the original at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. He has the charm of a Lib Dem front-bencher.

9. Wearing pink socks does not make you wild.

8. She stared the entire time, never seen somebody that thin before.

7. I'll buy you a coffee, I haven't the money for a tequila shot.

6. Can you get blue tomatoes?

5. You have a smaller interest in Sally than I thought.

4. Should have left it at home, I told you, didn't I tell you?

3. I'm not interested, just buy me a pair of jeans and be done with it.

2. Does it go to Liden? Does it, I thought Liden was near Oxford.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. Don't even reckon on me turning up, I'd just come in, smack two people from the main office in the face, take all the free drinks I'm allowed, and walk out.

Overheard something we've missed? Then email swindoncentric@gmail.com or leave a comment and your phrase could make it onto next weeks list!

Swindon's Very Own Shock Doctrine

The stateside version of this, with some variances, covered on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show

If your streetlights have been broken for an age and the graffiti on your walls has now got moss growing on it, it could because of Swindon Councillors subscribing to the 'Shock Doctrine'.

The theory by-which governments push through major neo-conservative policies (privatisation, liberalisation of constraints on industry, simplifying government processes, etc) when a citizenry is in 'shock' from a disaster has and is happening in Swindon.

The disaster? The financial crisis, the credit crunch, the following recession, stalled recovery and now double-dip recession.

We're constantly being told, and have been, by the ruling councillors at Swindon Borough Council that there is not any money for basic services in the way they have been provided before.

How has this policy been followed? There's so many to mention -

- The privatisation of Swindon Commercial Services (the works department of the Council, now run to make a profit and wholly owned by Swindon Borough Council as an investment interest).

- The spinning-off of adult social care in Swindon to another organisation.

- The cutting back of hundreds of front-line staff in Swindon Borough Council, from libraries to park rangers.

- The administration of benefits to Swindon residents now provided by Capita, not Swindon Borough Council.

- The attempted privatisation of Swindon's entire assets of it's Council Housing stock. This was prevented after a vote by council house tenants.

- To a derived point, the Wi-Failed scheme. One of the numerous reasons given for the scheme was that the council now had to look at ways of producing revenue (making money).

- The latest, the transfer of green spaces to house-building companies.

- The transfer of the Oasis leisure centre and a chunk of land at North Star to a private investment company to refurbish the centre and build a snow dome and other leisure facilities, to be operated by them and not Swindon Borough Council.

Swindon Centric Says ; The constant banging of this drum of 'if we don't reduce our deficit it'll come and attack you in a lonely alleyway' is spin, as Swindon Borough Council seem happy-enough to run up record debts building infrastructure at Wichelstowe.

Why are Swindon Borough Councillors happy to spend money on easy things like roads and paths to tempt house builders, but won't work hard to come up with a detailed, costed, long-term, council-funded plan to rebuild assets?

Have our councillors become lazy and unknowledgeable? For Swindon, it should be renamed The Shock and Lazy Doctrine.

Swindon Gives Away The Crown Jewels

Is giving a private company Swindon's Oasis Leisure Centre, in return for it's refurbishment and substantial expansion the only option, or an austerity-cloaked privatisation?

The plan for a Snowdome at the Oasis North Star area is not new and the fact it's reached this far is great news. But is the part of the deal that the company concerned, Morai Capital Investments, will be allowed to build this leisure addition, in return for full modernisation of the Oasis, too high a price to pay?

And the Swindon Card you may own? That won't be usable at the Oasis any more.

In the same way that the street light switch-off was spun that it would save us substantial amounts of money in the long-term, what the real story consists of, is our local authority getting out of having to worry about the town's infrastructure. The 'saving' councillors talked about concerning the lights was actually the cost of replacing the lights, as the areas in question included street lights which were rapidly approaching the end of their working lives. The spin about the lights being in areas 'it wasn't thought they would be much needed', or the environmental benefits, was just that, spin.

A 'get-it-off-our-books-as-quickly-as-you-can' attitude.

Swindon Centric Says ; Were the options of direct capital investment from Swindon Borough Council even looked at? Did the council even research taking out loans to modernise the town's assets? If they did, are these documents available for us to see please?

Time for a Freedom of Information Request maybe?

The Mayor of Simpleton

 How strange it would be if the Queen was to vote in a Commons or Lords situation, shaking the foundations of the system.

On a local level, that's about to happen in Swindon.

The Conservative Group have a majority of one in the recent local council elections, which means in the event of a tie, the Mayor (which is largely a ceremonial position, despite the selected mayor being an elected councillor) will, like-never-before, be called upon to cast the deciding vote. The new Mayor, Councillor Mick Bray (Conservative, of the Lydiard and Freshbrook ward) may find it increasingly difficult to justify his position as he votes on issues in the council chamber one moment, then remains non-political whilst grinning for the cameras and having cake at his official mayor duties the next.

 Swindon Centric Says ; We live in interesting times.