SIGN THE DOWNING STREET PETITION IN SUPPORT OF THE CARE WORKERS....(courtesy of Tori Blare)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to provide more public funding towards the care of the elderly and vulnerable in Liverpool City.

The Liverpool City Council are £29 million pounds overspent in their budget for Capital of Culture.

The Liberal Democrat controlled Administration have insisted that the Private care providers, sign a new contract for this provision of care which equates to a 30% cut across the services, having the direct effect on the staff and the vulnerable.

The same administration has decided to cease the existence of the generic council run home care service.

This again has a direct impact on the carers and the vulnerable.

We request that the Government ensures the full budgets are released for the vulnerable and elderly citizens of Liverpool and not in the form of high wages for the senior management teams of the caring profession.

Sign the petition here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/LiverpoolCare/#detail

THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE....

Below are comments posted by the people of Liverpool on the care workers dispute...

Stanford88 said...
Congratulations on attracting so many comments Tony.

It's good to be able to tell others of the way council is treating us.

I will certainly post news and comments to it !

Guess what? – more bad news !

I bumped in to one of the ex office staff where I work today. She said our company had lost a few of the areas that we are working in because of the new contract and this would affect my blocks.

It appears that I have to go and work for another new care agency if I want to stay with my service users.

What are the council trying to do to me?

What are the council trying to do to the people I look after?

Are they deliberately trying to upset us?

Are they deliberately picking on us?

First of all, a 30% pay cut, secondly, IF I manager to stay a carer, I will have to transfer to another care agency because of toopee to stay with my service users?

I don’t want to change agency.

I am happy with my wages, I am happy with service users, I am happy with the agency I work for.

Are all these changes for the good?

If so perhaps Curly, Larry and Mo (AKA Antrobus, Hunter and Brazil) be able to tell me how?

I have served this city as a loyal carer for a number of years (on less money than them).

I think I am entitled to some explanation.

PS I am a council tax payer - so I am demanding an answer...

Tepec said...

I am a social care manager.

I just can't believe where they are coming from on this one.

How can they disrupt so many vulnerable people?

Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:45:00 AM

TAX PAYER said...

Yes and I am DEMANDING to know what the hell they are up to.

I am also a tax payer. I object to my hard earning money being used to feather the nests of Social Services and P.C.T. managers also the allowances for so called 'Coucillors'.

YOU need to take some Counsel yourselves.

These are very vulnerable Liverpool Citizens and care staff you are putting at risk.

People you are not even fit to wipe there boots.

GIVE US THE ANSWERS YOU FACELESS PEOPLE instead of pocketing MY MONEY yourselves.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:15:00 PM

Carol said...

So very very sad. Oh! to be elderly. Nobody cares.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:24:00 PM

Pete said...

If you want to save money to have more to spend on yourself and Jollies to Cannes and elsewhere who do you pick on?....... The elderly and children they can't hit back.Thats about the level we have sunk to in Liverpool.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 9:08:00 PM

Anonymous said...

"Never before have so many been taken for so much and left with so little."

Thursday, May 31, 2007 9:56:00 PM

THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE...

THIS COMMENT WAS POSTED ON THE HENSHAW AND THE EVIL CABAL BLOG, ABOUT SIR DIDDY BEING THE HIGHEST PAID BUREAUCRAT IN THE COUNTRY WITH HIS £340,000 PAY OFF. IT DESERVES A WIDER AUDIENCE, SO WE ARE REPEATING IT HERE:
Stanford88 said...
I am a care worker in Liverpool.
I work hard looking after the elderly people I care for. We all do.
The council are going to cut my wages by almost 30% in July for me to do the same job as I am doing now.
They have massive wages whilst I go and clean peoples backsides and take a massive pay cut.
Dont I provide a valuable service to my community?
Well the council bossess obviously dont think I do.
I earn just above minimum wages already, If they cut my wages, I will have no choice but to leave my job and work somewhere else.
Does anyone else know what is going on at the council?
Have a look at this site: http://liverpoolcareslaves.blogspot.com/2007/04/minimum-wage-vs-maximum-wage.html
The council bosses are earning over £100000 pounds a year. Why can't they take a pay cut?

AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, STANFORD 88.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT AT NEXT YEAR'S COUNCIL ELECTIONS, THE LABOUR PARTY HAS A MANIFESTO COMMITMENT TO FREEZE THE WAGES OF ALL COUNCIL STAFF EARNING ABOVE, SAY, £100,000 A YEAR. WE WILL SEE WHAT THE PEOPLE OF LIVERPOOL MAKE OF THAT RADICAL POLICY.
AND IF STANFORD 88 WANTS TO POST ANY MORE COMMENTS, THEN BE OUR GUEST MATE - WE WILL GIVE YOU A PLATFORM.

'COVER UP' ON HIS AND BRADLEY'S £250,000 TRIP TO CANNES

Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton has returned from his £250,000 trip to the south of France - determined to cover up what really went on.
The cash-strapped city council's current chief executive (extreme left in picture) has regaled council staff with an utterly banal account of his adventures in Cannes in his internal report.
However, Cover Up omits any details of the three informal drinks receptions and buffet lunches on the Liverpool Yacht which he and current Council Leader Warren Bradley attended, or one of the highlights of MIPIM 2007, the four course dinner with free wine at "the excellent La Potinier du Palais" five star restaurant.
This was, according to the programme notes, a fairly informal dinner, (that means it was drunken, ed)) hosted by Council Leader Warren 'I'm only a fireman' Bradley and 'Cover Up' and attended by the entire city council and Culture Company delegation, which included, bizarrely, the bullshitter, Kris Donaldson (not in picture, amazingly, ed)

Fortunately, all evidence of Cover Up and Bradley's presence at many of these 'social events' has been carefully excised from the Liverpool at MIPIM photographic record (rather in the manner of Stalin's Russia, ed).

Liverpool Confidential has even more pictures here

Cover Up's account of Cannes also omitted to mention (below) the LIVERPOOL@MORRISON’S PARTY in an Irish pub - "the best event in town", which, according to the publicity, offered "the ideal opportunity to unwind with guests at the end of a busy MIPIM week."

Cover Up and Bradley both managed to avoid getting their picture taken here with a pint of Guinness in hand and totally shamrocked.
Fortunately, the city council had, once again, "managed to secure private access to the street". As well as "live music from the Mersey Beatles, there were bar facilities both inside and out."
Cover Up also drew a veil over events at closing time on the last night at Cannes, which by all accounts featured several notable city figures, wandering around slightly the worse for wear, with one throwing up on la Croisette. (That's the prom to you and me and anyway, they were only unwinding after a busy MIPIM week, no doubt, ed).
The cost to our cash-strapped council of this continental week-long jaunt is estimated by councillors (they were not invited, ed) as at least £250,000 - including hire of the yacht for a week, hire of a five star restaurant, return flights for Cover Up, Bradley and a football team's worth of assorted city council hangers on, taxis to and from the yacht etc, a week's accomodation in a huge five star hotel , lunches, breakfasts, dinners, hire of the The Mersey Beatles, etc, etc.
But none of this - (apart from Cover Up's apparent obsession with 'the bar', see later, ed) - got a mention in his excruciating internal column for city council staff.
If you can bear the boredom and the turgid prose, here it is:

"Last week I spent three days with the Liverpool delegation at MIPIM - an event which keeps growing both in importance and size. The general feedback at the end of the week was that it had been the best ever for our city.
The new stand produced better footfall and increased contacts as well as giving us the opportunity to promote the city outside on the main concourse (he's in a world of his own, ed).
Apart from the set presentations, which continued to develop the theme of Liverpool as an international city ripe for investment, my time was divided between meeting key business contacts and speaking to other cities representatives (notice he doesn't say who he had a three minute chat with, ed).
There is a strong interest in the plans for North Liverpool both from existing partners and other companies looking to invest for the first time.
I had a long discussion (more than five mins, ed) with developers about getting the right quality in place and the balance necessary to protect the heritage environment.
In particular, people were excited by the 'Liverpool Waters' presentation of Peel Holdings and the potential regeneration effect of both Project Jennifer and the investment in Liverpool FC by George Gillett and Tom Hicks (nothing whatsoever to do with the city council, however, ed)
Three new promising contacts reflected the growing reputation of Liverpool as a centre for biomedical research, the health sector and wealth management (the £250,000-a-year Cover Up gave them some good advice on managing their wealth, ed)
On the other city stands I was particularly impressed by Toronto who are continuing to develop their waterfront and have a connection with Liverpool through George Gillett - in terms of developing sports stadia and the surrounding infrastructure (absolutely fascinating, ed)
Also there in significant numbers for the first time were the emerging cities of the Russian Federation fuelled by the wealth of natural mineral resources and seeking considerable building development opportunities (perhaps Cover Up is anticipating a move to Siberia in future?, ed)
My favourite piece of architecture on display (is this guy for real? ed) was the Empire Tower in Abu Dhabi, part of a region where status is being symbolised in an ever-increasing rivalry to build spectacular buildings. In terms of quality and accessibility, one of the most interesting developments was the new leisure and tourist zone on Sentosa Island Singapore (this will go down well in Anfield, ed)
I came away with a clear impression that Liverpool has a distinct and positive offer to make on a global stage but that there is still a need to raise the bar (see, he has got booze on the brain! ed) on delivering those things which create prosperity and economic growth to a level which makes us competitive with the top global locations (utter bollocks, ed)
(But not a word about the council's £29million cuts, or the cover-ups, or the cock-ups. And not a word about what specific and tangible benefits this jaunt has ever brought to Liverpool, ed)

COUNCIL TO CUT CULTURE BY £21 MILLION - BUT WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE?

Liverpool city council is making cuts of £21million to Capital of Culture in 2008.
Liverpool's proud year is now set to be a penny-pinching damp squib because of the financial waste and neglect of the city council and Culture Company.
After frittering away a small fortune paying off first the greedy Henshaw (£340,000) and then Robbing Archer (£180,000), the Culture Company have squandered millions on Archer's creative team, an army of private consultants from outside the city and a string of public relations companies, lobbyists and designers, mostly from outside Liverpool. Their contribution to culture in Liverpool has been distinctly underwhelming - but it has cost council taxpayers a fortune.
Then there has been:

• The millions disgracefully wasted on the rottweiller McElhinney's ruinous contracts with LDL
• The £18,000 spent on a roof to keep the pigeon shit off Colin Cover Up's posh car
  
• The private shower built for the evil rottweiller at MisadVenture Place
• £377,000 spent on toy wheely bins, rubbers and 't' shirts
  
• Council leader Bradley's all expenses paid trip with Cover Up to the south of France next week
• The £3million which treasurer Phil Hasitall gave to his mate Chas Cole for the Summer Pops
• The £25,000 spent to get Jayne Casey into bed (outrageous waste of money, ed)
  
• Two all expenses paid trips by The Harbarrowboy to Los Angeles (that's a new one! ed)
• Sending The Harbarrowboy back to school at Harvard (what's wrong with Anfield Comp? ed)
• Posh champagne receptions for the great and the good in Liverpool and London
  
• A huge hospitality budget for posh lunches, dinners and entertaining, courtesy of council tax payers
• At least £1million paid out in Performance Related Pay to senior managers like Cover Up, the smiling assassin Hasitall and the rottweiller who have performed so badly the council now faces a huge financial crisis!
• Cover Up's £210,000 a year salary. Hasitall's £200,000 a year salary. The Harbarrowboy's £185,000 a year salary, etc, etc, etc, etc.
  

All of this - and does anyone deny any of it? - adds up to a monumental waste of public money which has left the fat cats fatter and the city of Liverpool a whole lot poorer.
The city council is only now being forced to admit it is strapped for cash after trying to hush up the full scale of the mis-management. See The Echo story (amazingly, ed)
The Lib Dems had even intended to set an illegal budget which didn't balance the books, but their cover has been blown.
Now it has been revealed that within the next three months they are planning to renege on their promise to give £5.8 million to Capital of Culture for 2007/8.
Another £12million is being lopped off spending for Culture in 2008 itself.
And there is a shortage of almost £4million in sponsorship (I thought the Harbarrowboy was responsible for bringing in sponsors? No wonder they are sending him back to school, ed)
The only conclusion to be drawn is that 2008 will now be a huge wasted opportunity and a massive disappointment to all those who hoped it would help change Liverpool for good.
The council and the Culture Company are directly responsible. They have bankrupted Liverpool's future.
But no-one from the council or the Culture Company has yet explained how they have spent the millions from the government and European Union which has already been handed over.
Can anyone now trust any of these wasters with any more public money?
Make them pay.

'Deep folly all around', says Professor Stanley Unwin from beyond the graveymost

Professor Stanley Unwin said...


Dear Bloggermoles,

Too much speclio gong on, hanky panky, funny buslanes, no no, deep folly.
So just a wordytwo here to take the opportuneo to put the record straightmost.
Truth be known, tremendous gapoed municipal coffers.
Many milliowes caught short.
Poor Colonic Hiltio been accusey most new broom sweeper, Bex bissel under the carpetload.
But no, not to be. Worry Bradlio, hop on fasty boat all the way Cannes. Deep cuts much folly. Teary bye thinks, May election calamatoast. Must do something. No hesitate, fasty think feet.
Top of all this, Halitosis shiny porshe, cover most a pigeon load.
Oh no! he criedly-eyed. Birdy business much mess cleary upmost.
Hers's some cashie bags, spoke the chef executoad, cover my combustio steery wheels too, most shiny and keep off the dropping splashies all over my windelows.
Fifteen trouserpounds, they said!
Now, much thought pop the weasel cost. Tuppeny rice? No, if only.
Too much waste and Paul McCartnoad no show. Can we get Sonia? No, too busy panto rehearso. Ahh yes, Slappy thigh behind you. No it isn't. yes it is. Ha, Ha.
Much joy kiddies faces on the asbo loads. Til Billy Butload that is. Even Petey Priceright dressy up girly dame.
Do a funny turn. But not pop load, not for summer.
So, keep open the biblio? Thought Bradmoade. Many books, lots of story, funny and sad. Laughy face and teary in the eyeline. Pictures too.
Or splashy about all wet. Leisure centrepede. Not in the water though. Purpley dye widdley culprit all red faced. Wring the speedos out though. Quick rinse, never topple in the tumbelow dryer. Much shrinky male soprano load. Definite no.
Keep both open hours said Bradlio.Smiley faces deep joy.
Scrap the pop and sack of cole.
Was cream on top? May never know, finger prints all over wipey that too. Deep folly all round.
Gravy train off the rails for this year, so no more gravy, just the laughingmost stock cube. Cant blame the pidgeos for that.
But 2008 just around the crooner, Singy Frank Sinatra, ahhh no longer. Deeply sad.
But don't forget still kareoke like Sinatra, singsong words he said. "I mind it down way. No regrets just mention a few most."
Hope that's all cleary now.
Bye load nightly
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:00:00 AM