Terry Harding
Recent activity
Comments (7)
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Comment on: Ombudsman plans come under attack
Strange how no one has a good word for the Ombudsman system and tenants have been telling the Government this for years, yet it still survives. The Standards Board only needed a few politicions to complain and it was scrapped. The Audit Commission failed to police its self and was closed down, so why is it the Ombudsman is still with us
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Comment on: White paper reveals proposals to make ALMOs independent
A Housing Association by any other name........?
Dead Right and something that was forecast right from the beginning. ALMO's created to attract the tenants who feared full stock Transfer, trouble is it was obvious that Labour under any circumstances wanted rid of Council Housing -
Comment on: White paper reveals proposals to make ALMOs independent
A Housing Association by any other name........?
Dead Right and something that was forecast right from the beginning. ALMO's created to attract the tenants who feared full stock Transfer, trouble is it was obvious that Labour under any circumstances wanted rid of Council Housing -
Comment on: Councils ponder £1.2 billion solar offer
North Tyneside Council are now identifying property suitable for fitting Solar Panels, mine is one and am awaiting a survey. I will tell you more when the survey has been completed
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Comment on: Councils ponder £1.2 billion solar offer
North Tyneside Council are now identifying property suitable for fitting Solar Panels, mine is one and am awaiting a survey. I will tell you more when the survey has been completed
Discussions (1)
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Hypocrisy
I find it amazing that Hilary Armstrong has the audacity to criticize Councils who cannot afford to upgrade their stock as the cause of their own predicament.
She amazingly adds that tenants onl
Posts (32)
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Posted in: Chief executives' pay
Lets not name names eh, I commented on the recent appointment of a former Chief Executive who was poached from a large County Council in Yorkshire by our elected Mayor and brought back on a £250.000 salary (formally on £124.000) Inside Housing choose not to publish it. The job was not advertised and done without the approval of the electorate. So incensed by this decision, I asked David Cameron before the Election whether or not he would freeze Chief Executive Salaries along with the pay freeze to the Public Sector. His answer was unequivocal, stating that he would not interfere with Local Authority Executives pay and it was up to each authority to decide if they were value for money, well on that basis he as Prime Minister must be worth little as his pay scale is £135.000l, meanwhile it is the poor Council Tax Payer who will pick up the Bill for these Prima Dona Fat Cats
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Posted in: ACCESS TO PERSONAL FILES ACT 1987 AND ACCESS TO PERSONAL FILES (HOUSING) REGULATIONS 1989.
Most Local Authority and Public Sector are now using this method to deter and delay access. Many Council refuse access under Solicitor Confidentiality. This was once the right under the 1985 Local Government & Housing Act where all tenants could seek access without any charge. One wonders what they have to hide.
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Posted in: Complaints Procedure
The three tier complaints system was adopted after the LGO said that she would find Councils guilty of Maladministration, if they did not have a proper complaints system in place.
Unfortunately this system only extends the complaint and rarely resolves it. Anther drawback is, the ombudsman will not normally take a complaint unless the full procedure is exhausted, this can often delay or frustrate the complainant as the Ombudsman will often take years rather than weeks to resolve an issue and will almost always take the Councils side. -
Posted in: publicising ASB enforcement action
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Would anyone be willing to share whether they publicise any enforcement action taken by their organisation, and if so, how they do it? ie local paper, newsletter etc. Thanks
Try looking in the Local Press here on North Tyneside, they have the biggest number of ASBO's in the North East, if not the Country. Some of the methods they use are posters in shops, door delivery of flyer's with names and photographs.
For more information, contact North Tynsides Safer Estates Management Team, they will only be too please to publicise their work.
Incidentally, we are all waiting for a challenge under the Human Rights Act against the Council, its bound to come
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Posted in: Worklessness
Quote: Thank you all, I'm now not only older, but wiser...
You are right Christopher, we live and learn, but as far as a huge number of Worklessness are concerned, some learn faster than others how to bend the system