I hope no one minds me posting the following on the forum. It is merely a rough draft and needs polishing up here and there. The final article will be forwarded to pressure groups unions and government opposition party leaders. Any comments positive or negative please.
The “Big Society” was the flagship proposed policy of the Conservative party’s 2010 general election manifesto. It is now at the core of the legislative programme of the coalition agreement. The stated aim is to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a “Big Society” (BS) that will take power away from politicians and give it to ordinary people.
At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that such a well intended aim should be commended and welcomed.
The government has now embarked on a spending spree of taxpayer’s cash on a media led national recruitment drive for volunteers to sign-up to the BS. Seems like a good time as any to delve deeper to see if this initiative should be welcomed with opened-arms. Is this really about raising community spirit or is there a hidden agenda lurking just below the surface?
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams appears to sit in the latter camp when he said of the BS, “aspirational waffle designed to conceal a deeply damaging withdrawal of the state from its responsibilities to the most vulnerable.”
My real concern is that many voluntary groups under the BS umbrella will not be working in unison with existing public service providers such as local authorities, NHS trusts and other bodies, delivering services in a supplementary capacity, but will end up being an on the cheap replacement.
During a recent visit to my local hospital I noticed a change in a basic service, which is a case in point.
I was down to my last battery for my hearing aid and the small device was falling apart, requiring re-tubing and servicing. Accordingly, after thanking the hospital receptionist for the batteries, I asked to book an appointment to get the aforesaid repairs carried out. The receptionist replied, “That’s done by volunteers now who attend the hospital every third Thursday morning in the month, but you need to be aware that sometimes they don’t turn up. You don’t need an appointment, just come along.”
Just imagine the following hypothetical scenario;
“Hello Mrs X, my name is Ms Y from the Community and Living department at the District Council. It is with great regret that I have to inform you that the voluntary gravedigger failed to appear yesterday, leaving us with no alternative but to cancel your Husband’s funeral scheduled for later today.” Of course, Mrs X would have no means of redress against the gravedigger because as a volunteer he would not be bound under any terms of a ‘contract of employment.’
Millions of ordinary people are working more hours now than they have throughout their working lives and many are struggling to make ends meet from day-to-day. We are told the cost of the current level of public services is unsustainable. Yet, the government waves a magic wand and cash always appears, to pay for wars, bank bail outs, millionaire MPs to clean out their duck ponds, huge bonuses and golden handshakes for retiring banksters and servicing the extortionate interest rates on the PFI debts.
I refuse to subscribe to the BS, because offering my services for free will inevitably lead to a public servant redundancy somewhere down the line. Furthermore, any financial savings to the treasury will ultimately end up in the pockets of the profiteers, who by hiding behind the cloak of confidentiality are unaccountable to the taxpayer, as the recent fiasco surrounding G4S showed.
