Hancock's Half Hour

[lurker]

I know that it’s a big if, but if it’s possible that the government can learn lessons then the dogs dinner they have made in Leicester might just be worthwhile.

Apparently they would not release data to the local authorities because a bit of paperwork about data protection wasn’t signed. This week, every LA has signed up so that’s a tiny logjam cleared. Maybe!!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I find it a little odd that we can have a Data Protection act and a Freedom of Information act. One or the other ceases to apply at some point, which makes it pointless .

 

[Jake]

Local authorities, governing bodies, head teachers need to work out the best local solutions. They cannot expect central government rules to cover detailed actions for all circumstances. Criticism about the detail is either an attempt at political point scoring, or foolishly destructive. It actually achieves almost nothing!

"Solutions not problems" and "glass half full not half empty" would be a far more productive attitude.

All potential solutions involve more cost. It's all very well saying local govt should sort it out, but they have been stripped to the bone on funding and do not have resources and are not being given them. If central govt is going to devolve responsibility to local govt, it needs to provide them with the funds to pay for solutions.

 

[Jake]

I find it a little odd that we can have a Data Protection act and a Freedom of Information act. One or the other ceases to apply at some point, which makes it pointless .

Kind of amusing but also completely missing the point of the two but never mind, kind of amusing.

 

[Rorschach]

All potential solutions involve more cost. It's all very well saying local govt should sort it out, but they have been stripped to the bone on funding and do not have resources and are not being given them. If central govt is going to devolve responsibility to local govt, it needs to provide them with the funds to pay for solutions.

Keep stripping, when you see how much waste, corruption and damage our local council does with the money it does get the only solution is to keep going.

 

[Chris152]

Pubs in Engerland can open from 6am tomorrow (Saturday).
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... EJiCWEHRYI
Wetherspoons, keen that nobody overdoes it, won't be opening til 8am.

 

[doctor Bob]

Wetherspoons, keen that nobody overdoes it, won't be opening til 8am.

Loath them with a passion, singlehandedly made drinking in the morning acceptable.

 

[Lons]

All potential solutions involve more cost. It's all very well saying local govt should sort it out, but they have been stripped to the bone on funding and do not have resources and are not being given them. If central govt is going to devolve responsibility to local govt, it needs to provide them with the funds to pay for solutions.

Keep stripping, when you see how much waste, corruption and damage our local council does with the money it does get the only solution is to keep going.

That's about the only thing in months I've agreed with Rorschach on! :lol:

Certainly Northumberland CC are very adept at bleating but exceptionally poor at managing resources though experts when it comes to deflecting blame when it goes t*ts up. The millions they waste on hairbrained schemes which later are swept under the carpet is eye watering.

 

[Jake]

OK so if central government isn't supposed to do it, because it's patronising or something, and local government can't do it because it's shockingly wasteful and corrupt and terrible, we're a bit - what's the word - sunked. Private sector ain't going to do it. So depression worse than GFC it is.

Or we just grow up.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

There are 32000 schools in the UK. In my opinion, were the response to CV-19 managed centrally, it would almost certainly require a large, costly, probably ineffective bureaucracy to manage the detail. It seems right that the response is managed locally to meet local circumstances.

Not all changes needed to education need lots of extra money - but they do require organisation - eg: staggered start times, staggered lunch breaks, staggered lesson change over times, etc.

Some changes - eg: provision of IT for the disadvantaged, training for teachers to become proficient technology users etc - will need more cash.

Since 2010 total local authority spending has been reduced by approx 20% - council tax has increased but this has been more than offset by reductions in central funding. This is 2% pa - most businesses would cope fairly easily (albeit unhappily) with this level of income reduction.

The government have also announced £4.3bn extra funding for local authorities - approx an extra 9% on their total spend of around £50bn.

Whether this funding is adequate is (in my mind) an open question given the demands that have been placed upon them.

 

[Rorschach]

All potential solutions involve more cost. It's all very well saying local govt should sort it out, but they have been stripped to the bone on funding and do not have resources and are not being given them. If central govt is going to devolve responsibility to local govt, it needs to provide them with the funds to pay for solutions.

Keep stripping, when you see how much waste, corruption and damage our local council does with the money it does get the only solution is to keep going.

That's about the only thing in months I've agreed with Rorschach on! :lol:

Certainly Northumberland CC are very adept at bleating but exceptionally poor at managing resources though experts when it comes to deflecting blame when it goes t*ts up. The millions they waste on hairbrained schemes which later are swept under the carpet is eye watering.

Wahey! :lol:

A friend told me that WCC relaid the roads for social distancing, wider pavements etc. They ripped it up 10 days later and put the old system back in place.

 

[Lons]

Wetherspoons, keen that nobody overdoes it, won't be opening til 8am.

Loath them with a passion, singlehandedly made drinking in the morning acceptable.

May have facilitated it Bob but they're a business and wouldn't be doing so if there wasn't a demand. Nobody forces punters in there to drink themselves silly.

I'm not a fan of either Weatherspoons or unlimited drinking hours btw but would also suggest that the explosion of very cheap booze in supermarkets possibly had at least as much to do with drinking issues than Weatherspoons.
Just my opinion and I have no personal experience whatsoever, I think I've been into their premises only a couple of times and in any case I wouldn't consider drinking alcohol during the day even while abroad on holiday where I've regularly seen pints being downed along with breakfast.

This pic was recently posted elsewhere by a friend and seems pretty apt to me especially given that the pubs are now open.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Very apt .......... but fake.

 

[Lons]

Very apt .......... but fake.

Yeah didn't say it was authentic Phil and tbh I never checked but it still is relevant.

A lot will be happening this weekend, have just seen pictures of caravan & motorhome convoys heading to the tourist hotspots and apparently clogging up the parking spots at motorway services, good luck to them, we've got a damn expensive motorhome just sitting there but won't be using it until things settle down.
I mentioned a while ago that people are like sheep and thick as pigsh*t, haven't seen much that changes that opinion.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Thankfully from an infection point of view Cornwall had July weather in June. We're now having drizzle, rain and winds that are typical for August - we lit the stove last night.

 

[Blackswanwood]

A lot will be happening this weekend, have just seen pictures of caravan & motorhome convoys heading to the tourist hotspots and apparently clogging up the parking spots at motorway services, good luck to them, we've got a damn expensive motorhome just sitting there but won't be using it until things settle down.
I mentioned a while ago that people are like sheep and thick as pigsh*t, haven't seen much that changes that opinion.

With respect that's a tad harsh isn't it Lons? While I'd rather staple my eyelids to a wall than have a holiday in a van I'd have thought it's possible to do it and be relatively safe and harmless to others?

There are some selfish and thoughtless people out there definitely ... and possibly they do end up congregating but I think we're a long way off people in general being sheep and thick as pigs*t.

 

[Lons]

Thankfully from an infection point of view Cornwall had July weather in June. We're now having drizzle, rain and winds that are typical for August - we lit the stove last night.

Same here Phil however all the poor weather will do is drive them into the pubs and shops where infection spreads more easily. If it's anything like our local towns people are congregating and acting as if the virus doesn't exist, social distancing isn't happening and masks are as rare as hens teeth.

I'm from the North East, we don't light the stove until it's down to minus 10.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If we waited til it was 0c we'd light it about three times a year. It gets lit more often because of the damp than the cold. 99% today.

 

[RogerS]

....

I'm from the North East, we don't light the stove until it's down to minus 10.

Pah! Minus 10 ? Minus 10 ? You soft wussies over there on the East Coast

 

[Lons]

A lot will be happening this weekend, have just seen pictures of caravan & motorhome convoys heading to the tourist hotspots and apparently clogging up the parking spots at motorway services, good luck to them, we've got a damn expensive motorhome just sitting there but won't be using it until things settle down.
I mentioned a while ago that people are like sheep and thick as pigsh*t, haven't seen much that changes that opinion.

With respect that's a tad harsh isn't it Lons? While I'd rather staple my eyelids to a wall than have a holiday in a van I'd have thought it's possible to do it and be relatively safe and harmless to others?

There are some selfish and thoughtless people out there definitely ... and possibly they do end up congregating but I think we're a long way off people in general being sheep and thick as pigs*t.

Not really in general terms Blackswanwood from what I see happening around here, maybe not as much in your area but I can only speak for what I see but of course it is just my opinion.

Holidaying in a van can mean pretty much anything you want it to from a tiny ancient caravan or battered old transit to top of the range large motorhomes or twin axle caravans that have all mod cons which are expensive enough to need a mortgage.
Ours is 7.5m and very comfortable indeed and as I tow a little car as well we have full mobility if we want it with the benefit of being able to go away at very short notice for just a few days or a few weeks. We've done a fair amount of travelling to far flung places by the usual methods so have plenty of experience to compare with however it very definitely isn't for everyone, especially those who like to just go and lie on a beach in the sun which I personally find more than a little boring.

Going back to those flocking to sites it isn't safe as the majority will use the site toilet block facilities rather than their own, if they have them and if that isn't risky then what is? Many will also flock to the shops and the pubs with similar risks. If they maintain social distancing and wear masks when appropriate then fair enough but I very much doubt it from comments made on the relevant media groups leading up to this re opening.