All I ever hear are complaints (the latest being potholes and lack of recycling facilities). So does someone have an example of something good they have done? There must be something!

They're excellent at remembering when you owe them something... Remarkable isn't it.

What good do Sheffield Council do?

I give up!



What good do they do? :suspect: :hihi:

Are the council the ones responsible for planting the baskets of flowers near the Moor St r/b... If so, thats the one and only good thing they've done... Beggars belief that I pay £650 a year for that though!

They occasionally empty my bins on the right day, but only occasionally!

Originally posted by Hook
They occasionally empty my bins on the right day, but only occasionally!

That's off topic. The Question is what is the council good at and they dont empty the rubbish bins anymore after they outsourced it.:D

Originally posted by nightrider
All I ever hear are complaints (the latest being potholes and lack of recycling facilities). So does someone have an example of something good they have done? There must be something!

seeing as you raised the topic what do you think they're good at?

Originally posted by wendygs
seeing as you raised the topic what do you think they're good at?

I dont know. That is why I asked...I cant think of anything and apparently noone else can either. So should I get my council tax refunded then? :)

Chance'll be a fine thing and just to satisfy my insatiable curiosity I just wonder what prompts such apparent dissatisfaction?
;)

I think they do a reasonably good job of educating our children, in the majority of cases.

Originally posted by wendygs
Chance'll be a fine thing and just to satisfy my insatiable curiosity I just wonder what prompts such apparent dissatisfaction?
;)

the fact that many of the complaints are to do with lack of services/repairs (that I have had in other council areas I have lived in) So why I am I paying them money if they dont do anything? The answer must (I thought) be they do do something useful with it that I dont know about. Which is what prompted my question. But noone can seem to think of anything :(

What good do Sheffield Council do?

they are good at putting the rent up, and the council tax;)

Originally posted by Don_Kiddick
I give up!



What good do they do? :suspect: :hihi: this has got to be over to redrobbo:clap: come on then mate you can have centre stage:clap:

According to the report referred to in this link www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa/index.asp that
Sheffield City Council provides an excellent service based on criteria to be found at this link: www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council
So apart from potholes in the roads wherever it would appear that no-one anywhere in Sheffield has got anything worth beefing about. I found the first few paragraphs of this report scintillating and am quite sure everything else will make just as compelling reading.

Thanks to cgksheff & the_rudeboy respectively for those much appreciated links (see Council League Tables also in this Forum)
:D

It is so easy to have to a go.

I think the council do lots of good things, be it keeping the city clean (and before anyone has a go, our city is clean), providing good services, developing an interesting city centre (ok, ok, I choose to forget it's gonna be blocked buy multi storey hotels), developing sheffield on a constant basis, and keeping the place going, ...I think the council try to do their best.

It's never going to be good enough, and everyone's going to complain. That's the nature of the beast.

To the person who questions their 650 quid a year,,,,thats 12.50 a week.

How much do you think you would pay a random guy to get rid of your rubbish every week? As well as all the services the council provide.

I think it just should be remembered that all the coucil workers in Sheffield are residents too. Everyone is doing their best, I would think.

I like Sheffileld. It's good.

650 quid? what would you do with it if you had a choice?

I e-mailed Sheffield Council the other week asking for an un-used road to be cleared of broken glass and debri. I received a letter from them advising me they were going to do it, it was done quickly and efficiently and I received another letter advising me the work had be carried out. Can't complain about that :thumbsup:

I've also e-mailed them asking for the road markings on the road where I live to be improved, signs errected to warn people of speed bumps and also for the area to be designated a 20mph zone. I received a response basically rejected all the suggestions so I have responded with more detail and countering their arguments as to why the work does not need to be done. I'm just awaiting another response.

As far as the Council is concerned, if I want something doing, I ask them to do it. So far i've had favourable results.

they are good at turning sheffield into a huge building site,at creating traffic congestion,spending money,etc etc

Originally posted by roughy101
this has got to be over to redrobbo:clap: come on then mate you can have centre stage:clap: bump:thumbsup:

Originally posted by roughy101
this has got to be over to redrobbo:clap: come on then mate you can have centre stage:clap:

Oh roughy101, how could you drag me into this debate? And, to bump up the thread to make sure I noticed your challenge! I'm onto a no-win debate here matey! But, anyway, let's have a bash at answering the question ..... What good do Sheffield Council do?

I think the short answer is......very little.

Long gone are the days when the council used to have a major say in such things as bus fares, emptying the bins or even managing council houses! Successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, have placed enormous controls on the activities of all councils, to the extent that councils have to 'outsource' various functions to management organisations.

Let me give just two examples. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), to build new council homes. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Tony Blair) to modernise council homes with government grants to meet the 'decent homes standards' - these have to be undertaken by an arms length management organisation (Sheffield Homes) or by a stock transfer to a housing association.

Approximately 75% of the council's budget is spent on education and other children's services. This money is received direct from central government, and (in the council jargon I have had to learn), it is "passported" direct to the schools and similar services to spend. The vast majority of the money goes on salaries, and the running costs of premises, like schools, nurseries, etc. The council has very little say in how this huge sum of money is spent, despite having to meet various government targets on educational achievement, the number of children in care who are adopted, and similar.

Indeed, when you take into account other government grants which also have to be "passported", the council has a major say in only a small proportion of the overall budget.

In 2001 the government decided that all areas of the country should have a Local Strategic Partnership to co-ordinate planning and spending on mainstream services, and deliver an overall Community Strategy. The 88 most deprived areas of England also received new Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for which the LSP became responsible, as well as other funding to support regeneration. Sheffield City Council no longer acts alone, but in various Partnerships, represented by the Public Sector (the local council, health service, educational institutions, etc), the Private Sector (local businesses and business organisations) and the Voluntary, Community and Faith [VCF] Sector.

The council is both restrained and constrained in what it can do in its own right, has to passport a lot of the government grants it receives, has to outsource a lot of its services, and has to work in partnership with different organisations to achieve economic regeneration, improvements to the health of its citizens, and similar.

So, my short answer to the question "What good do Sheffield Council do", is indeed very little, i.e., very little in its own right. But to avoid boring the pants off readers, I will cease answering this question in any more detail for now. I intend to return to this debate in a future posting, where I will answer the question again from a different perspective.

In the interim, I shall enjoy reading the views of other posters.

{redrobbo bows to roughy101 - and exits centre stage}.

Originally posted by boyface

650 quid?

That's considerably less than mine - where I am in Bexley borough, it's around 1100 per annum. (on a 3 bed-semi, middle-of-the-road area.)

Although concil tax is relative - house size, area, proximity to 'x', 'y', 'z'.

Redrobbo, I was very interested in your response (though I do think you should have been given the option of responding)! rather than being 'identified' by other forum users :rolleyes:

If, as you say, the City Council has very little autonomy any more, the question that springs to mind is 'why do we have a City Council'? Are they merely administrators on behalf of the Government of the day? If so, what difference can differing political persuasions offer as an alternative?

Personally, I think that when Sheffield Council subsidised the bus fares (many moons ago) this was the best thing they could have done as many people have told me that traffic jams just didn't exist in those days. The lower road usage would surely mean less money spent on road repairs etc? Sheffield Council ought to fight for the right to run the area as they see fit - and if this includes subsidised buses/public transport so be it.

I do feel that the Council comes in for a lot of stick if they really do not have the autonomy to make 'free' decisions.

I assume planning and city regeneration is still under the overall guidance of the Council?

I had something dead quippy and smart to say about our (tall building and 'posh frock' allergic) council... until I read your eloquent and reasoned contribution:

Originally posted by redrobbo
Oh roughy101, how could you drag me into this debate? And, to bump up the thread to make sure I noticed your challenge! I'm onto a no-win debate here matey!

I feel I have learnt a thing or two tonight!

They're good at demolishing council houses, too. Not so good at building them though. Anybody know of any council homes being built?

Originally posted by spartacus
They're good at demolishing council houses, too. Not so good at building them though. Anybody know of any council homes being built?
Already answered earlier by redrobbo, here's the relevant excerpt:
Originally posted by redrobbo
...Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), to build new council homes. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Tony Blair) to modernise council homes with government grants to meet the 'decent homes standards' - these have to be undertaken by an arms length management organisation (Sheffield Homes) or by a stock transfer to a housing association...

Originally posted by redrobbo
Oh roughy101, how could you drag me into this debate? And, to bump up the thread to make sure I noticed your challenge! I'm onto a no-win debate here matey! But, anyway, let's have a bash at answering the question ..... What good do Sheffield Council do?

I think the short answer is......very little.

Long gone are the days when the council used to have a major say in such things as bus fares, emptying the bins or even managing council houses! Successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, have placed enormous controls on the activities of all councils, to the extent that councils have to 'outsource' various functions to management organisations.

Let me give just two examples. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), to build new council homes. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Tony Blair) to modernise council homes with government grants to meet the 'decent homes standards' - these have to be undertaken by an arms length management organisation (Sheffield Homes) or by a stock transfer to a housing association.

Approximately 75% of the council's budget is spent on education and other children's services. This money is received direct from central government, and (in the council jargon I have had to learn), it is "passported" direct to the schools and similar services to spend. The vast majority of the money goes on salaries, and the running costs of premises, like schools, nurseries, etc. The council has very little say in how this huge sum of money is spent, despite having to meet various government targets on educational achievement, the number of children in care who are adopted, and similar.

Indeed, when you take into account other government grants which also have to be "passported", the council has a major say in only a small proportion of the overall budget.

In 2001 the government decided that all areas of the country should have a Local Strategic Partnership to co-ordinate planning and spending on mainstream services, and deliver an overall Community Strategy. The 88 most deprived areas of England also received new Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for which the LSP became responsible, as well as other funding to support regeneration. Sheffield City Council no longer acts alone, but in various Partnerships, represented by the Public Sector (the local council, health service, educational institutions, etc), the Private Sector (local businesses and business organisations) and the Voluntary, Community and Faith [VCF] Sector.

The council is both restrained and constrained in what it can do in its own right, has to passport a lot of the government grants it receives, has to outsource a lot of its services, and has to work in partnership with different organisations to achieve economic regeneration, improvements to the health of its citizens, and similar.

So, my short answer to the question "What good do Sheffield Council do", is indeed very little, i.e., very little in its own right. But to avoid boring the pants off readers, I will cease answering this question in any more detail for now. I intend to return to this debate in a future posting, where I will answer the question again from a different perspective.

In the interim, I shall enjoy reading the views of other posters.

{redrobbo bows to roughy101 - and exits centre stage}. a very eloquent and may i say, honest post sir..

Originally posted by spartacus
They're good at demolishing council houses, too. Not so good at building them though. Anybody know of any council homes being built?

I cant tell you how irritating it is when people dont bother to read and it's not as if there's any excuse, the thread is ONLY 2 pages.

Originally posted by wendygs
I cant tell you how irritating it is when people dont bother to read and it's not as if there's any excuse, the thread is ONLY 2 pages.

Wow! That's a bit nasty Wendy. And just after I've applauded your reply to the thread on freeware... Cool down girl. Life's too short for that sort of thing.

If they actually make their minds up and get on with knocking down this little hovel I currently call home then they will have done some good work indeed. Just wish they'd get a move on. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by spartacus
Wow! That's a bit nasty Wendy. And just after I've applauded your reply to the thread on freeware... Cool down girl. Life's too short for that sort of thing.

spartacus It was not intended to be even remotely nasty and you cant begin to imagine how infuriating I find it when people dont take the time to read, so if I went about letting you know how I felt in the wrong way then I can only apologise. I hope you agree that's enough said and lets get back on topic. wendy

Originally posted by redrobbo
Oh roughy101, how could you drag me into this debate? And, to bump up the thread to make sure I noticed your challenge! I'm onto a no-win debate here matey! But, anyway, let's have a bash at answering the question ..... What good do Sheffield Council do?

I think the short answer is......very little.

Long gone are the days when the council used to have a major say in such things as bus fares, emptying the bins or even managing council houses! Successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, have placed enormous controls on the activities of all councils, to the extent that councils have to 'outsource' various functions to management organisations.

Let me give just two examples. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), to build new council homes. Sheffield City Council have been forbidden (since the days of Prime Minister Tony Blair) to modernise council homes with government grants to meet the 'decent homes standards' - these have to be undertaken by an arms length management organisation (Sheffield Homes) or by a stock transfer to a housing association.

Approximately 75% of the council's budget is spent on education and other children's services. This money is received direct from central government, and (in the council jargon I have had to learn), it is "passported" direct to the schools and similar services to spend. The vast majority of the money goes on salaries, and the running costs of premises, like schools, nurseries, etc. The council has very little say in how this huge sum of money is spent, despite having to meet various government targets on educational achievement, the number of children in care who are adopted, and similar.

Indeed, when you take into account other government grants which also have to be "passported", the council has a major say in only a small proportion of the overall budget.

In 2001 the government decided that all areas of the country should have a Local Strategic Partnership to co-ordinate planning and spending on mainstream services, and deliver an overall Community Strategy. The 88 most deprived areas of England also received new Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for which the LSP became responsible, as well as other funding to support regeneration. Sheffield City Council no longer acts alone, but in various Partnerships, represented by the Public Sector (the local council, health service, educational institutions, etc), the Private Sector (local businesses and business organisations) and the Voluntary, Community and Faith [VCF] Sector.

The council is both restrained and constrained in what it can do in its own right, has to passport a lot of the government grants it receives, has to outsource a lot of its services, and has to work in partnership with different organisations to achieve economic regeneration, improvements to the health of its citizens, and similar.

So, my short answer to the question "What good do Sheffield Council do", is indeed very little, i.e., very little in its own right. But to avoid boring the pants off readers, I will cease answering this question in any more detail for now. I intend to return to this debate in a future posting, where I will answer the question again from a different perspective.

In the interim, I shall enjoy reading the views of other posters.

{redrobbo bows to roughy101 - and exits centre stage}.

thank you for your honest answer,i suppose we dont realise how much local goverments hands are tied:thumbsup:

Council Tax only provides for 13% (£165 million out of £1,225 million) of the total spend in Sheffield.
The rest comes from Central Government (still our money though!), rents, fees and reserves.

You can see a budget summary leaflet, which explains where the money comes from and goes to, by downloading from the link at the bottom of this page on the Council website:

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/corporate-finance/budget

They do not put bollards up quickly enough to help point out the pavements to motorists!
http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1130463

Originally posted by unners
They do not put bollards up quickly enough to help point out the pavements to motorists!
http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1130463
It's just a clever new way of testing for drivers with bad eyesight that shouldn't be on the road in the first place.

;)

Thanks redrobbo for advising us what the COuncil cant do and as many thanks to cgksheff for this list (Council League Tables) for what they are able to do.

Council ability 4
Core service 3
Use of resources 4
Education 3
Social care adults 2
Social care children 3
Social care star rating **
Housing 3
Benefits 3
Environment 3
Libraries and leisure 3

Another thing..... why can't Sheffield City Council Parking services park their cars legally? the other day i saw (for the 4th time might i add!) a parking services car parked on double yellows by the S10 gym, with no parking attendants to be seen! i wish i had taken a pic with my camera phone i would have made a complaint.

Originally posted by boyface
I think the council do lots of good things, be it keeping the city clean (and before anyone has a go, our city is clean).Hardly clean ... I've never seen Sheffield with more litter adorning our streets than today ! Where ever there are people likely to throw litter on the gorund it is there and it stays there. I am this week, getting a brush and going to spruce up the 50yards either side of my house coz it's doin me headin !Originally posted by boyface
I think it just should be remembered that all the council workers in Sheffield are residents too. Everyone is doing their best, I would think.True, but I shouldn't really be me cleaning my street should it ? One does expect a minimum level of service.Originally posted by boyface
I like Sheffileld. It's good.
650 quid? what would you do with it if you had a choice? Yes I love Sheffield, but for other reasons.
And if I had the choice I simply would not pay it as I deem the price does not reflect the service its worth. I'd probably do a complete change of councillors... For the sake of having new faces with a bit of enthousiasm left in 'emOriginally posted by unners
They do not put bollards up quickly enough to help point out the pavements to motorists!
http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1130463 Our council is good at building extended pavements around junctions and thining roads for curious reasons... to name a few: Suffolk Road, Chesterfield Road, Charter Row.

Originally posted by Captain_Scarlet
Hardly clean ... I've never seen Sheffield with more litter adorning our streets than today ! Where ever there are people likely to throw litter on the gorund it is there and it stays there. I

What amuses me is all the signs in the city centre threatening to fine peopel if they drop litter. Yet there is litter everywhere and no people in sight to fine litter louts or clean up the mess! So thats money well spent on the signs then.

Originally posted by Captain_Scarlet
I'd probably do a complete change of councillors... For the sake of having new faces with a bit of enthousiasm left in 'em

We do have the chance to do that every year in the election. However, because it's not Big Brother or Pop Idol most people don't bother voting.

Regarding enthusiasm, without wanting to turn this into a personal discussion, Redrobbo represents my area on the City Council, and I know from the amount of work (both in terms of hours and effort) that he puts in, that I am lucky to be represented by someone who is so enthusiastic about this area and overcoming it's many challanges to make it a better place for everyone to live.

I regret the strength of the "party line" which results in my local councillors choosing not to follow through with local wishes to overide the recommendations of council officers.

This has been despite the overwhelming evidence that officers' decisions have been made "in error".

Originally posted by nightrider
All I ever hear are complaints (the latest being potholes and lack of recycling facilities). So does someone have an example of something good they have done? There must be something!

What are you talking about? Sheffield City Council organise lots of excellent things.... for example a cycle race that effectively blocks all city centre access roads for an entire day! I'm getting such value for money....

ps: Don't you just love having a good old carp about it????

Sheffield Council's policy is reply to emails within 3 days and to advise when they will provide a more substantive reply if they can not do so within 3 days.

I therefore just wondered whether other people who deal with various Departments such as Housing, Benefits, Advice, Disability, Trading Standards, Highways, Environmental Services, etc are satisfied that Council staff are good at satisfying these objectives with clear transparent replies.

If I have a query, complaint or comment to make I'm fairly good at getting my point across. I then obviously want the relevant department to leap into action and do what I've requested but this is rarely the case.
They respond rapidly enough but then seem to either have their hands tied by some central government paperworkwork or agenda or there is no money available.
Recently I complained about a road near me with no pavement as it goes underneath a railway bridge, I've had a few narrow squeaks there myself and I know some-one was killed there last year, I want a pavement!!!
The answer was that the accident rate was so low it wasn't a priority. bizaarre.
A factory near me is standing empty it is scruffy to look at and is dangerous as the local kids are forever getting in and starting fires and the like. I'd like the owners a building company to knock it down and yet the council who agree it is dangerous can't insist on this being done.
I'm sure the council do a lot of good things but they do at times seem to be over shadowed by all the negative things that we see around us which we wrongly assume the council have total control over.

Originally posted by nightrider
I dont know. That is why I asked...I cant think of anything and apparently noone else can either. So should I get my council tax refunded then? :)
They are the same as councillars, they dont do any good either...

My local councillor does a very good job. I have had to contact her about local problems a few times, and she has been very good at responding. She even rang me back in the evening last week after a council meeting to let me know something relevant and helpful that had come up in their meeting! :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Hels
Redrobbo, I was very interested in your response .....

If, as you say, the City Council has very little autonomy any more, the question that springs to mind is 'why do we have a City Council'? Are they merely administrators on behalf of the Government of the day? If so, what difference can differing political persuasions offer as an alternative?



Some body has to be in charge of schools, roads, and the myriad other services that a local authority provides. But for the past 20 or so years, there has been a debate about how far central government can trust local goverment to deliver services. Remember, whilst central government mostly holds the purse strings, it's local government that spends the money.

Central government has determined that local government must prove they are providing value for money. Thus, the city council now has to bid for funds to spend on this, that or the other. To obtain some pots of money, the city council sometimes has to pass various government inspections, obtain a minimum star rating, or achieve so-called beacon status. This is all to do with the quality of the services provided. The city council is always trying to lever in more money for the benefit of the citizens.

However, there is some flexibility in spending priorities. These priorities are evidenced in the decisions of both the Cabinet and the full council meetings - which are reported on in the local media. These priorities have more to do with the degree of flexibility in spending some of the money raised by council tax.

Periodically, you, the voter, get your chance to express your opinion on how well you think the controlling party at the Town Hall has been doing, and whether you think any of the opposition parties should be given a chance to make the top decisions affecting our city.