As gritting is still a problem we’ve both been in touch with Streetscene.
It’s interesting how my wife and I get a different response from Streetscene; but then I suppose there’s a red flag in respect to my name.
We’re doing our best. However I will point out that:-
It was a Labour led Council last year that (if memory serves me right) awarded the contract to Colas. As I did last year I brought up concerns about this contract however the Labour led council denied my Freedom of Information Act requests on grounds of commercial sensitivity. It then turned down a review of this request.
When £40 million is at stake I suppose the public aren’t entitled to know if the gritting is being done properly.
So if you wonder why it’s not done in-house anymore and the roads are icy – blame Labour and its policies of privatisation and subcontracting Wirral Council’s responsibilities.
Until the end of this financial year, Wirral Council is operating under a budget with Labour priorities in it.
Subcontracting services leads to massive problems with communication, monitoring contracts and complaints from the unions about changes to terms and conditions. In this case there are many from residents too.
In many cases, subcontracting is used as a “smokescreen”; to deny the public (and media) information over how their money is spent. It also sets up a convenient scapegoat if things go wrong.