Grit frustration

Published 20 Jan 2010 13:00

WITH regard to SNP Group secretary councillor Jonathan McColl's article, I fully agree that councils, governments and individual politicians are often the target of anger and frustration, however, I do not agree that this anger and frustration is "misdirected".

Who else but those who are elected to serve their constituents can frustration be vetted against?

In any organisation, be it local council, central government, NHS or private sector, those in positions of responsibility need to take praise as well as criticism, while addressing and rectifying areas of criticism where necessary.

Councillor McColl also states that he cannot accept people blaming UK, Scottish or local government for inclement weather.

As wonderful as our Government is, I agree that it cannot control the weather.

However, while UK, Scottish or local governments can predict population increase/decline, needs of elderly/disabled, five to 10 years in the future as an excuse to close schools, hospitals, reduce funding for elderly/disabled assistance, I find it incredulous that technology available at their fingertips is not utilised to predict long range weather forecasts and to plan accordingly.

It was reported in the Clydebank Post on January 6 that, funnily enough, the council office's car park had been gritted (phrase "abuse of privilege" springs to mind).

The feeble excuse was that this was necessary for the staff who deal with the road conditions and the social workers to get into work.

It would not take our primary school children to work out that gritting the car park would not help these employees get to work - if they have arrived at the car park they have succeeded in getting to their destination.

I am in no way dminishing the work that these employees do, but there were many other council employees, i.e. homecare workers, who braved the icy pavements on foot or the treacherous roads in their cars to reach the elderly and infirm.

NHS employees braved the conditions to get to their place of work where car parks were not gritted and I am sure their work was just as important and in some cases more so.

Having read the Post's article with horror and disgust that a church was refused grit for a funeral, I am sure that most people would rather the grit used for the council car park could have been used to assist undertakers and local churches to give our loved ones dignity in their final journey.

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This letter appeared in Clydebank Post 20 Jan 10

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