18 February (Part 1) - Short changed
Before
I got caught up in writing this blog I used to do a lot of DIY work or maybe
that is an excuse and I have become old and lazy, but soon after I moved here in 1987 I
went to a nearby builders merchant to order some sand and aggregates. I knew I
would need a lot but was unsure how much I could conveniently accommodate on the
drive of a new house and dithered when considering one cubic yard or two. I
probably looked like a complete beginner but eventually plumped for two cubic
yards. When it arrived it was quite clearly only one; I’d had enough experience
of ordering sand before to know what two cubic yards looked like; so I called in
Bexley’s Trading Standards.
A man came out, put a tape measure over my undisturbed heap, nodded agreement
and went away. I got my extra sand and the builders’ merchant went out of
business a year or two later. I bet you couldn’t do that any more.
I’ve seen Trading Standards officers out with tape measures checking if
advertisements are larger than the law allows. I have seen CCTV of 16 year
olds who looked ten years older trying to trap shopkeepers into selling them
alcohol and I have seen them handing out labels to stick on doors to deter cold
calling but I suspect the old Weights & Measures aspects of the job have fallen
by the wayside. When did you last hear of a greengrocer prosecuted for selling
unweighed soft fruit which they seem to do all the time?
There is a lot for Trading Services to do and a fair bit of it is a statutory
requirement. As I understand it the government provides the funds to ensure the
law is upheld. Bexley, as readers will know, is the worst borough in the country
for food hygiene in restaurants etc. and the council’s excuse is that they only
have the resources to inspect the high risk premises which may well be true. But
is it a reasonable excuse? Is the grant being spent on Trading Services or being
diverted to other functions?
It would seem the latter is more than likely because I have not heard that the government has
removed any Trading Services responsibilities from Bexley council but they have
nevertheless decided to chop the number of staff from six to two from April.
Only a few years ago the number exceeded 20.
What is Bexley council doing with the money saved? They make no real secret of it, they
are using it to plug Bexley’s £40 million black hole and without doing that council
tax would rise. That might get O’Neill and her cronies slung out of office
because it is close to being their only worthwhile achievement. In the lead up
to May 2014 saving political skins is the priority, not statutory requirements.
A Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures is a post required by statute, like
the Monitoring Officer, but he is for the chop in Bexley. Has the relevant government department
been notified? Would the department have a view on the inevitable reduction in Bexley’s ability to uphold the law?
Were
the public aware of these development before 663 of them filled in their
budget consultation forms? If they were I can find no reference to any comments on the
subject. Bexley council should know by now that ill-thought out economies can
have dire consequences. Do I have to spell out again how many deaths there have
been where economies were a contributing factor? Or the cover-ups that followed?
Will Bexley’s next scandal be Weights & Measures related? My heap of sand was
not a matter of life or death but regulating tanning shops, tattoo parlours and
sales of legal highs may be. I really don’t want to hear “lessons have been
learned” again from any council, least of all Bexley when someone dies after eating a
take-away.
Note: With assistance from a retired Weights & Measures
Inspector. Bexley council has decided to rob their health budget to fund two
more Trading Services posts bringing the total to four. A far cry from twenty plus!