Saturday, June 02, 2007

Kent County Tories Do Care!

Reports in this weeks Thanet Gazette by Kathy Balles concerning increased charges for home care would suggest that Kent County Council, Conservatives are uncaring and ruthless but I personally think that its high time the other side was given.

Kent councils, Conservative ruling group, clearly do care, they care enough about people, look how they have poured money into the needy of America, with their attempts to subsidises the tourist industry of Virginia ( £300,000 spent on flights to Virginia). Even now Kent council is in the process of spending roughly another £325,000 on the impoverished people of Washington DC by spending money in their hotels and restaurants’, and so as not to embarrass anyone, they’ll be claiming, that this is for some Folklife Festival to promote Kent, suggesting that yanks are about to flood into Kent for their holidays,which has got to be nonsense particularly with a pound costing 2 dollars US.

KENTS SQUANDER HALL

Another case of Kent’s caring attitude is its attempts to build a relationship with the counties favourite overseas totalitarian regime, China, last October a party of five travelled to Shanghai and beyond, led by a member of the education cabinet. Which resulted in this comment from the council “the exchange of information and experience at all levels as a contribution to the enrichment of school education and [the] dissemination of best practice on educational issues.” The mind boggles at what our county education department thinks they have learnt, particularly the reference to “best practice” coming from a country that would imprison any of it citizens reading this. I’m willing to guess that last weeks announcement of Chinese investment in Manston will almost certainly require public money (that means your money), we might even see some of Kent’s Magic Money .

Coming back to that report in yesterdays Gazette, alright it may look mean, charging up to an £2,800 a year extra, for those with disabilities, but how else is Kent to pay for our globe trotting KCC delegates and foreign aid program. Has anyone considered the selfless contribution of the counties representatives, jetting off all-round the world with maybe just a gin & tonic for comfort and an expenses form to fill up.

Who knows how many unwilling officials have been forced off to foreign parts, in fact its become such a touchy subject that recently Kent council refused to give details to Kent on Sunday (see 06/05/2007 edition) of who accompanied deputy leader of Kent council, Alex King on one his recent trips, to Virginia. I don't think you can put a price on the dignity of our plucky representatives on active duty in some foreign hotel, bar or restaurant.

We are often given as justification the hundreds of millions spent by Kent council to justify massive salaries such as the chief exec on roughly a quarter million. Putting the squeeze on the disabled to save £600,000 is about as low as you can get.


P.S. Well done to the Thanet Gazette for highlighting this particularly issue. Shame on KCC!

3 comments:

  1. As one of the disabled, I hate to wish ill on anyone but I wish that the abled in high command would be forced to undergo the daily tribulations that we face. We have I know DLA or AA but they do not see that this is needed for all things, extra heating, being taken out, for some every function needs care.
    This does indeed shame the KCC

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  2. My apologies for not responding to your comment, the reason I held back was that I was hoping that maybe a member of the conservative party might just have the strength of character to reply, not surprising in the light of all the other profligate spending with rather thin justification.

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  3. Thank your for responding, I am grateful. But...
    He that expecteth nothing is not disappointed when he gets it.
    My faith in politicians is now cynical for they only take the short term view and not long term. Therefore everything ends up being more expensive on all but mainly the tax payer due to inadquate thinking.
    By the way the paperwork this exercise generates will be beyond the understanding of most of the people being targeted.

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