Ivory Tower Syndrome

My fellow blogger and Cornwall Councillor Alex Folkes has unearthed a shocking piece of wastage of council tax money. It turns out Cornwall Council are buying top of the range cars for some of the executive officers. Two of these cars for the Fire and Rescue Service cost in excess of £68,000. Just imagine how much fire equipment, or extra fire-fighters this will fund.

If you have to supply a car due to high-mileage then do the cheapest, most economical car you can get. This is not big business where turning up in a flash car is the measure of your success. This is tax payers money.

It is more infuriating because many staff are facing massive cuts to mileage to ‘save money’. Many in the care industry will be hardest hit because if a member of staff goes over a certain mileage their claimable mileage goes from around 40p per miles to 20p. To many this reduction means paying more out of their wages to do the job they are employed and sent to do.

Again this wanton wastage shows some at County Hall do indeed live in a Ivory Tower. 


Tea Gate

If I said that on three occasions Cornwall Council hired a taxi to transport tea and coffee to another building, you might think I was making it up. Sadly, and more shockingly, this really did happen. If this had come to light on April 1st many people would have thought nice try, but I am not falling for that. Also you could imagine Monty Python doing a sketch on this.

The total cost to the tax payer was £10.50, so it will hardly break the bank. But again, it is the principle of it being allowed to happen. The reason it happened was because of a change to the canteen at Carrick House that left no refreshment facilities during this change.

At first the ‘company van’ was used, but this stopped when this van was handed back to the lease company. Instead of a) going without a cup of tea, or b) going without a cup of tea, someone thought of sending it by Taxi. I am still concerned that a van with a driver was used, but I guess I will leave that one go.

I will probably be accused of not being helpful to Cornwall Council from those within, but when we score own goals like this, is it little hardly surprising when the public gets miffed on how their money is spend. I feel if issues like this are highlighted, then maybe, just maybe they will stop.

The West Briton in their printed and online paper have covered this story HERE. I think the illustration of the journey is rather good.

Today, the Daily Telegraph has covered Tea Gate HERE