Wake up Call for Rip Van Winkle

Written by Cllr. Jim Mochnacz and published in Wells Journal on Fri 24th Oct 2008

Have you noticed how suddenly Tories all over Mendip have started writing anything and everything to divert attention from their appalling "Zero-star" rated Inspection with "uncertain prospects for improvement". The 42 page report states very clearly that this is a failure of Mendip across the board. Conservative run Mendip is so bad they even fail to respond in time to complaints from the Ombudsman!

The Conservatives have been finally found out in this report. This is Ken Maddock's legacy to the Mendip area. And he claims he wants to take over Somerset County Council. Remember Liberal Democrat run Somerset County Council is an "Excellent Four Star authority and strongly improving". Mendip run by the Tories is now officially Zero-star rated.

Who can you trust with your local services?

The desperately sad thing is that this is a Conservative administration that has failed to help the homeless, the disabled, the poor and the most vulnerable in our society. Housing and a roof over our heads is the most vital and basic of needs. The Conservatives have even failed to meet their own low targets "bringing empty homes back into use falls well short" the report states.

They have failed in the value for money test. Mendip Council is "failing to meet its own targets for the delivery of new affordable housing and has a poor understanding of its costs and a weak approach to managing value for money.". Somerset cannot afford cut-back-Ken. The report continues with Mendip's "planning guidance requires 22 per cent of affordable housing on sites of 15 units or over. These are less stringent requirements than many other local authorities."

They have even failed their own staff with service cutbacks "weaknesses in the service's approach to performance management and the overall track record of delivering improvements is weak. Staff capacity is limited" and there is an "absence of service standards in many areas." Mendip's only remaining Director left a week ago. Not to be replaced. His work dumped on other already hard-pressed staff.

This damning report as bad as any council ever gets and if Somerset County Council had a report just one tenth as bad the Tory letter writers would by now be in hysterics.

And what does the Conservative leader at Mendip say in response to this report? "Its a wake up call". Is this Rip Van Winkle before me? No this is Conservative complacency and arrogance. This report accurately and devastatingly records on every single page that they have failed the public and cannot be trusted.

Who should you trust with your local services?

The report also states that Mendip has "no service standards in place for the homelessness service, aspects of private sector housing or the DFG" - (disability facility grants) service". Mendip Conservatives should be ashamed with their bogus claims when the most vulnerable in our society have been so consummately failed.

I guess we can expect even more green ink Tory letter writers saying that its all someone else's fault. Why not simply shoot the messengers - the Inspector. The Ombudsman. The Candlestick Maker.

Mendip is Zero-stars. Official. Somerset County Council has Four stars, is an "Excellent" authority and strongly improving - two years running.

Who do you trust?

Jim Mochnacz

Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Street