OT: How long does it take

[George]

for a local ward councillor to get some information from a council department?

Anyone approached their ward councillor to sort out a problem they have experienced with the council.

Thanks.

[Huge]

[Anne Jackson]

The message from "George" contains these words:

Yes, I have. In my experience it is usual to get a response the following day, or - at the very most - within two days.

[George]

In that case you should report him/her to your local MP

[George]

Ta, I suppose this would be down to the nature of the problem?

[BRG]

George,

As an ex-local authority officer, I can tell you that it can depend on the working relationship between the officer and the councillor:

"Good" relationship and very often a simple telephone call will get the info within minutes. "Fair" relationship and that may take around a day or so as the relevant officer is busy. "Bad" relationship and the 'bloody councillor' can wait until the officer is ready to respond - and given good stalling tactics (at which councill officers are very adept), this could take forever! :-)

Athough a slightly tongue-in-cheek reply above, I can tell you that if you approach the said council department yourself in a reasonable manner, you will probably get the information that you want far quicker than using the local councillor as a go-between.

BRG

[Anne Jackson]

It might well be, but I have had many problems with many Council departments over the years, and have never failed to have a prompt response from my Councillor - and sometimes Councillors in other wards, where there was a problem.

Perhaps having the reputation of being something of a harridan helps, or perhaps it's because I help out at local election time? This way you get to know all the Councillors personally... ;-)

I have also found my constituency MP to be very helpful, but not so my MSP, unfortunately!

[Huge]

I did. The matter was cleared up in a few weeks.

[George]

This must be a bad relationship then ;-( He told me he'd be in touch with me to see what the problem is,that was last friday 8th.

Whats an ex-local authority officer do then? and how is you have the power to keep the LWC dangling?

[Andy Hall]

That depends on

- how good their relationships are with relevant council officials

- how pushy they are

- whether they are up for election in May and wish to contest a marginal seat

- whether they think the issue is important.

- whether you are actively a member of their party

Try writing or emailing your MP as well

Certainly. Effectively and quickly.

[George]

Doesn't anything go wrong in your world MrHall? ;-)

[Tony Bryer]

Back in my LA days (1974-84) the protocol was that generally councillors should direct all enquiries through heads of department and not talk to individual officers unless this was agreed by the dept head. Likewise all replies from officers to councillors had to be seen by the dept head first.

[Mogga]

Really?

We've been having nusiance from a bit of land. The councillor's official response at the community council last July was "we're helping them form a residents group with First choice" The response given to the paper last week was "we're helping them to form a residents group with First Choice"

Should I take both bits of info to the MP? Or is there another body that'll look into it? I've already taken it up with the MP as I have been aware for some time I am banging my head against a wall of their making.

(don't ask me what the area action team is, but they were "dealing" with our issue last year, and have been asked again. It's top secret agency only group so I don't know how to find out what they've decided or agreed, or why they're ignoring our issue)

[George]

So go to the main council office and see if any plans have been drawn up for that land?

What do you mean "Nusiance from a bit of land"? ie is it getting up of a night and turfing itself around the area. ;-)

[Andy Hall]

Lots of things.

I try first to focus on those that are important and which have the greatest chance of being fixed if I take an action vs. those that are not. For those that are harder to address or perhaps time consuming (and therefore the most expensive in terms of effort), I look again at how much I care about them and what the return is. I don't just mean financial return here.

In terms of local issues, I've been involved in quite a few that could be regarded as "successes" over the years; as defined by an improved outcome over what would have happened had I not taken an action. This has included things such as forming residents' associations, engaging the press and TV, legal counsel, central government, local and central political representatives, government departments and even recognised academic experts. It's really a case of determining how much something matters to you and others around you, what support and from whom it can be obtained and how; plus what to do at each stage. The axiom of keeping powder dry is a useful one.

Apart from the points that I already mentioned, it's also very important to understand, before attampting to tackle any issue, whether the way it is being presented is as it says on the tin, or whether there are other agendas going on. This may well heavily influence who will genuinely support something, who will pay lip service and who will be an antagonist.

So before embarking on anything, I think that it is very important to weigh up what is likely to be needed to achieve the desired outcome and then to decide whether to do so.

[Mogga]

The UDP shows thatit is Recreational open space. There's nothing on planning for it.

Use of it by persons with shovels, pick axes creating huge dirt jumps and then all the yobs who enjoy a drink to excess. (Not always mutaly exclusive groups of people) They say it's "open space for all" but it is open to the canal since the yobs broke the fences down and covered in broken glass, and earth works that'll break a leg if you stumble into them.

If it was fenced off from the canal, mown (as it used to be) and has the side exit gap blocked up then the local kids could play on it. as it is the green spaces on our street have "no ball games" signs up so they're effectively forced onto the road.

[George]

If its recreational ground then go for a funding to make it into an astro turf footie pitch.

Dont as me how you go about it as I'm much in the dark as you. :-)

I suppose the first objective is a signed petition from the local neighbourhood?

[Cicero]

================================== Timescale is unpredictable - it depends on so many factors. I've been lucky on several occasions. Last year I wrote to all three of my local ward councillors about a problem (same letter to each) and all three 'phoned with two days and the problem was addressed quickly. It helps to keep up a little pressure on your chosen councillor(s) - don't let them forget you for too long.

Have you tried googling 'Liverpool + regeneration'? There seem to be several useful contacts there and don't forget the local paper.

Cic.

[BRG]

George,

"Whats an ex-local authority officer do then?"

I took early retirement and I now still do what I did then,,,nothing but enjoy myself, life too short not to. :-)

"power to keep the LWC dangling?"

Quite easy really, I refused to 'jump through hoops' for someone who thought that he/she had the 'power' to make me do so (and still do) - especially when they were being totally obnoxious (and there were a few of those in my LA)!

BRG

[Andy Hall]

It needs more commitment than that.

It's very easy to sign a petition and that's it - rather like voting, really.

Some assessment needs to be made of what the local support *really* is for a change to be made. Unfortunately, apathy is rife

obvious question is why are there "no ball games" signs? Maybe because people in the properties surrounding the green areas didn't like balls being kicked against their fences? So then the question is who is negatively affected by the poor use of the waste ground - people from some distance or just the immediate surroundings?

The answers to those would determine how to approach an issue like this. There's no point in trying to involve 1000 people when if push comes to shove, 990 of them will fall by the wayside. That plays straight into the hands of those who would do nothing.

One good litmus test is to form some kind of association to either protest what's happening or to propose an alternative - ideally both. Find out whether people are willing to put their hands in their pockets and to what degree. Find out what else they are prepared to do

- e.g. delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

Publicity is easy to get. The local papers are always looking for material to pad out the advertising. The key is getting the right messages across and to maintain the campaign.

If the direction would be to try to turn this into a worthwhile open space, then finding the potential beneficiaries in terms of sports and leisure organisations is important. See if they will support or oppose and whether they have budget.

For something that is apparently simple like nuisance from a bit of land, the campaign needs to be across a broad front with as many angles as possible. A petition will fall way short. Find people with communications skills. For example, in one particular issue, also involving some open space, that I was involved in some while ago, I found neighbours who had skills in marketing and in graphical art. There was another who was at the local university and able to enlist the support of one of the professors who was an acknowledged expert on a particular set of issues to do with trees. So lateral thought is important as well.

If an issue really matters, then the first decision is how much, and what am I willing to invest in terms of time and money to make a difference to it.