Re~Stirred Forum

That sounds like 'task and finish' which BCC has moved away from. Should we change back?

A couple of questions I have Sally - can we assume that those working in private homes don't have the qualifications and experience that council employees have simply on the pay ratios or is it that the market allows private sector providers to pay a lower price for the same level of skills/experience?

Secondly, can we assume that there are short-term cost savings that can be passed to a "living wage" contract with a private provider given that there are associated costs with closing LA provision (i.e. redundancy payments) and related to that, given that there already exists contracts with private providers that would have to be renegotiated, these wouldn't see a savings opportunity as they have already been accounted for?

Its not that I don't have sympathy with the aims of the living wage (I do and so would have Henry Ford who applied its principles to his workers), it just isn't necessarily the best way of achieving its goals given the current situation that we have found ourselves in where business is subsidised by government spending. Given where we are, I favour a different method of raising people's living standards.

Well the answer to the original question put on this thread will now slowly become known, as although the Liberal Democrat(s) tried to alter the new constitution put forward by Sir Albert at last nights full council meeting, Labour is now governing the city and we await the cuts they will impose.

It will be interesting to see if the opposition change their language from the use of efficiency savings, budget savings, to use the term they would not admit to under their administration, CUTS.

Interesting? Inevitable

Likw , in answer to the skills private sector carers have, I have actually helped a friend to interview people, for jobs as child care officers, to work in the private home, he was opening. Much as I like my friend the job title became support worker , expectations re-the role were lowered, Not one candidate had an nvq not even nvq2. the candidates mostly had experience bringing up their own children, but not of working with young people with challenging behaviour. Of course some private sector carers are qualified , however those workers will move to better paid jobs , the young people will face a lack of consistancy, wont be able to build up a rapport with their carers, who could be moving on to other jobs. they will find it hard to trust the carers due to this , also the young persons behaviour could worsen fhrough lack of stability.
The carers need a living wage and a committment from their employers, in order to work in an environment that is extremely stressful ,demanding, with responsibility of looking after someone elses child.
The same is almost the same when working with elderly clients, they need familiar faces that they can trust, depend on and relax with.
I do believe there will be savings , using private care providers, at the cost of losing council workers, redundancy money is not a fortune , and is paid once, the cut in wages is ongoing. Likw I am just concerned that both staff ,young people and our elderly people are all valued, the clients are away from their own homes and families, and in the care of paid workers, so surely they must be paid a living wage . not based on a "laissez-faire" supply and demand policy, which maybe ok for products , but not for people.
I can't add more than that .

Interesting picture in the Post today of the new line up of Labour Councillors, about 70 of them, though I do think one of them is ex respect councillor Shaukat Ali, who joined the Labour Party as a sitting councillor and was then not selected for his former seat, he is in the back row near Councillor O'Shea a fellow contributor on this site, though not recently.

Note that new Councillor Mariam Khan is right in the front row next to Sir Albert and Ian ward, an astute politician already, Sir Albert might not be so secure in his position and in three years we may have a woman leader of the Labour Group, if not a deputy leader, she has the support.

Cllr Waseem gets recongnised by the Queen for all his great work

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/1 ... sfeed=true

He is proud to be British and all the good that it stands for. His success is muche celebrated over the world

http://dadyal.com.pk/cllr-waseem-zaffar ... list-2012/

I think what Barnard is saying is that one can be proud to be British, but it doesn't follow that you think that the Order of the British Empire is an appropriate name for a 21st century honor. For example, a far more prominent Birmingham man - Benjamin Zephaniah - declined an OBE.

Throughout British history, people have often had more than one identity. For example, the Irish living in Birmingham, although British, have also had a clear Irish identity. That's great, but I think having [albeit in Pakistan] media point out that his "family originate from the Village of Thub Jagir in Dadyal, AJK. He is the nephew of Raja Kamal Khan and cousin of Raja Noman Kamal" doesn't seem to me so much being proud of your heritage as hinting at village politics. Village politics is in equal measures boring and disruptive to everybody else in Birmingham who really doesn't want to know what village a politician is from, but want to know what they plan to do in office...Your hyperbole does him no credit. Five sentences on a Pakistan-based website does not make him Barack Obama.

There already is an Order of Merit which I think (I may be wrong!) is essentially the highest 'honor' awarded to civilians not of 'noble blood' for long-standing service. It's limited to 24 members at any one time and currently has some very eminent members, but there is a vacant seat - so perhaps Waseem could get his shoe in there....

But as I said above, I'm not convinced there is any benefit from having an honors system for civilian achievements.

Don't think that's right since both the Duke of E and Big Ears are members of the order.

I think most orders of chivalry (is that right?) are headed up by a member of the royal family, or at least an aristocrat? I meant that the majority of members of the Order of Merit are neither military as in the Order of the Bath, nor aristocrats/ peers as is the case with the Order of the Garter, the two orders that rank higher than the Order of Merit. Admittedly most members of the Order of the Garter are not of noble birth, but granted peerages following political or civil service careers. In contrast, I don't think anyone would describe Fred Sanger or Aaron Klug [who are in the Order of Merit] as being establishment houseplants.

I've just read the Order of Merit criteria in the link you supplied. There doesn't seem to be a 'related to the Sovereign' category so I'm puzzled as to how her husband and her son became members.

If I can bring this thread back to topic, has anybody spotted any interesting new ideas emerging from this new Cabinet structure?

The occupants of the Birmingham Kremlin have discovered the first of the black holes, and they are nothing to do with the Higgs Boson particle.

At Monday's Cabinet Meeting a report will indicate that into the second month of the new administration, there is a £21 million pound shortage, for want of an acceptable description.

The main budgetary pressure lies in Councillor Brigid Jones' portfolio and in former councillor Matt Bennet's children's social care.

I am sure the accusations will fly concerning the previous coalition management of the city, fair enough, but just as following the change in government and the exposure that all the money had been spent fiasco, the new administration will just have to get on with it and balance the budget.

Labour are in power and must not moan but must manage the budget.

Dr Whitby managed it and balanced it.