hazardwarning

I will admit to having right of centre political views, though possibly not exclusively. I certainly don't agree with all the views of any one political party in the UK today.At the moment what does irritate me is the persistent demonisation by the current Government of the whole of one sector of the workforce: the public sector. Apparently the public sector in its entirety is work-shy, overpaid and lazy. They are pariahs and the public sector is to be avoided at all costs, with the notion of service replaced with one of profit.Yes, call me biased. After all the first 9 years of my working life was spent in the public sector - local government to be precise. I have spent the years since then working in the private sector, on local government contracts. I have worked with councils to provide efficiencies and cost savings, using technology to deliver services at reduced cost. Using the private sector allows councils to bring in investment in technology in a way they could not afford on their own. It is a win-win most of the time.The previous government expanded the public sector and increased historically low pay. It allowed them to report high employment, but was not affordable or sustainable. So the next government sought to point this out by demonising the workforce, as they have done with welfare. They have highlighted some isolated cases and incidents, presenting these as the norm. I agree there is always room for a provider of a service to improve and innovate, but now councils are in a position where their budgets have been cut so far that they have no money. They need money, and staff, to deliver services to their communities; something they are well placed to do. Yet there is constant interference from bloated central government departments who seek to deflect attention from their affairs (DCLG & DWP, yes, you).Give the councils the tools to do their jobs, allow them to run their communities & who knows, a sense of harmony and community might prevail.