It was just one of those things - if it broke, the argument went, it could cost more to put right, and you couldn't be sure the existing was up to whatever spec deemed necessary. Where possible we'd charge the tenant, or ask them to reinstate.
There were exceptions, and the housing association was more flexible than the council. Quite what we'd have done in some of the Grenfell flats, I'm not sure:
For many of us our house's worth is, at best, irrelevant. If you need to move then low house prices are best.
There's a few nutcases on this NG.
And what about the right wing myth that's often repeated here - that you can't tax the rich because they'll leave the country?
We have austerity now - look at the NHS, Police and Education cuts, for example.
You mean spending less.
Labour's spending £20bn on the NHS computer system didn't keep a singl e patient alive for a minute longer.
Labour's spending £470m on the FiREControl system and new control cent res (each with a £6000 espresso machine) didn't keep a single fire vic time alive for a minute longer.
Lots of other examples.
Owain
So?
So?
OK then, Labour's performance despite increased spending was so-so. 'nuff said.
Quite. Indeed high house prices can actually stop people moving to something more suitable. Duty to be paid and estate agent's fees etc which are based on price.
Only time you may gain is if you move to a cheaper area.
Yup. Lots of examples of the IT industry failing to come up with the goods. They should have asked on here where everyone is an expert.
On Fri, 23 Jun 2017 09:21:59 +0100, RJH wrote:
A couple we know who moved on to an inherited property sold their house to the Council, they had bought it of the previous owner who had purchased it under the right to buy when it was first made available. The wife of the partnership was fairly upset when she returned to the house as by chance a friend of theirs got the tenancy and saw how the fixtures and fittings such as fitted wardrobes had been removed leaving a plain room and a fairly well built kitchen and units removed and replaced with adequate but basic units and sink. What really upset her most was the rather nice garden with decent flower beds, shrubs and a pond had been scraped flat by a mini digger and left as a wasteland. I can see the argument for having easy to fix fittings but an old lady down the road in a council bungalow had a door handle changed the other day, the handle dated back to the 50's when it was built so it was just as awkward to replace as any other non std one and in these days of suppliers able to supply most things quickly rather than the repair teams getting spares from a store it does seem perverse for them to rip out perfectly good stuff. I suppose there must be some sort of equality over the premises though or some tenants would accuse the landlord of favouritism. Some Councils used to let agreed improvement works paid for by a tenant take place,and even used to contribute back to the cost if they left on a sliding scale dropping to Zero after so many years. They had to apply for permission though and get an agreement sighned and the work inspected. There may have been a clause for reinstatment depending on what was done. A common improvement at one time was the tenant installing central heating before the councils themselves started to bring homes up from the 2 bar electric fire bolted to the wall in bed and living rooms.
G.Harman
Well that flat seems to have had internal partition walls removed and the back of the entrance door doesn't open into an internal lobby any longer.
I wonder if permission from the freeholder was given for these changes ?. The enquiry might reveal more.
No we don't. We haven't had austerity since the post-war Labour government, and their hands were tied.
Most of the 'police' being cut are Blunketts plastic policemen. Utter waste of space.
the NHS definately is not being cut, it and 5-18 yo education are the two things that were protected in 2010.
The NHS budget is now £117 Billion a year. In May 1997 that figure was £37 Billion. Is it almost four times are good now ?. No.
In todays 'i' newspaper, it is reported that
1,300 head teachers are now earning over £100,000. A further 600 earn over £110,000.Work out the value of their final salary pensions, paid from age 60 and in many cases mostly spent boosting the GDP of other sunnier EU countries.
If this group is having his/her pay rises restricted to 1% per year, then I don't think they will complain.
what are you wanting?...fire safety for a measly ?1712 PCM?..looks nice and spacious that is all that matters to the tenants ......
hope somebody has passed that on to the police who are as you know looking for people to blame.........
picture 10 do you think that is a bedroom off the living room? ......
So all the news articles I have been reading about the current austerity measures are wrong then?
Explain why school's budgets are being cut then.
No. Explain why our Maternity hospital got closed recently and the A&E department only works part time now?
More a case of 'I'm alright, Jack'. I've not suffered austerity under this lot - but I know personally of plenty who have.
And police.
Because a Tory government's eventual aim is to privatize health care. Same as everything else. Profits to them and their pals are more important than the service provided. And there are vast profits to be made from health care.
Because they treat more people for problems they couldn't treat in the past. This costs more and they allocate resources based on need.
Accident and emergency departments are being replaced by departments that can actually deal with major injuries and the NHS can't staff enough of them to replace every A&E with a major injury unit.
You only need a local A&E if the travel time to a major unit is too long and with less congestion on the roads at night you can move patients to major units.
Ambulances now carry better equipment and better train staff so its more important to get an ambulance on scene than to get them to an A&E unit that can't treat the injury in the first place.
If you are seriously injured in a crash or an attack you would want to go to a trauma unit not your local A&E!
Need? You're joking!
A&E doesn't just deal with "major injuries".
Rubbish. Fewer A&E departments means not just more travelling time, but more pressure on those few departments still open - leading to longer waiting times and the obvious consequences of this.
Ambulances are also in short supply - so many would choose to make their way to the A&E department themselves - although not so easy if it's 100 miles away!
My last experience of A&E proved that to be the case. They were having to deal with stuff that their GP should be doing. In addition, there are the pissed-up abusive to staff bastards who should should actually be taken to the vet and be euthanased.
That's why walk-in centres are needed, some gps just don't do what they should.
There are certainly those. I also see interactions where the staff are clearly bringing it on themselves. Like so many situations seeing it as all one sided is simplistic.
NT
Why?
No but why do they need to deal with what the local GP should be doing?
It doesn't really matter how long you sit there with a sprained finger as long as they are dealing with the bleeding to death and stuff like that.
Just how far is it to your A&E that's closing at night and the next one?
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