What small change do you want from the new government?

MLW · 29 June 2015 at 10:51AM

Following the success of free access to national museums how about FREE access to sports facilities - or at least for organised sports clubs. E.g. community based sports clubs have to hire pitches etc. from local authorities - let's make the pitch hire free or virtually free, reducing the cost of participation, removing barriers to taking-part, and hopefully thereby increasing levels of participation and possibly reduction of obesity?

System · 29 June 2015 at 8:37PM

MLW wrote: »

REALLY? INTRODUCE THE POLL TAX AGAIN?
It costs exactly the same to send a refuse collection vehicle to a property containing 1 inhabitant as it does to a property housing 5 - proportionately the single dweller costs more (granted this would be offset by the larger household disposing of more waste and therefore increased costs at the processing end BUT be careful what you wish for).

In our area of the country the council tax can be more for a Band A property than a Band E in most counties. We are often ripped off by our local council.

they failed to respond to cars blocking my driveway four or five times a week despite double yellows across it and reporting the culprits

The roads are a state, potholes on my road that floods frequently - it flooded my engine trying to go to work I had to push my car with work colleagues, in tears to the garage.

The paths, I fell over a pothole on the pavement just last week and cut my knee.

I've had to call the council 5 times in 2015 to have refuse taken in a separate collection because the bin-men have failed to take my bin

After the fair came to visit the park is covered in litter that has been left there.

The local council-run health and fitness centre charges extortionate prices for swimming and monthly gym which is over-subscribed so I'm forced to go elsewhere despite helping to fund this centre with my Council tax

Picking up other people's waste they have thrown in the road that blows on to my driveway, where are the street cleaners?

the local library recently closed due to cuts?

I was abused by a council tenant neighbour, I caught her smoking drugs in my garden when I came home on my lunch break, she would wake me up with her prostitution clients at all hours of the night, it took them 6 weeks to arrive when she got a dog that peed and pooped inside causing a smell and making my life miserable as I heard her abusing the dog and it whined and barked all day and night
I viewed some properties you wouldn't let a dog live in, let alone a single person, you could use the kitchen from the toilet in some. To charge us +£100 a month for tiny homes with the over-inflated rent prices we pay as single occupants financially has been crippling me personally for 13 months now. It would be fairer to charge us as individuals, not against our properties we don't own and not using council devised pricings that are ludicrous for the services we receive.

egarobar · 29 June 2015 at 10:59PM

We would like it to be mandatory for companies to allow TWO names on accounts, e.g. myself and my wife. (Our Council Tax does this already.) I often have to fetch my wife to the phone if I'm phoning about an account in her name, and vice versa - and often that's really inconvenient! Companies say 'Data Protection means we can't talk to you without her permission'. But since we do trust each other in such matters, we'd like the option to have both our names on file.

tastyfish · 1 July 2015 at 11:33PM

esrdan wrote: »

Charges for using public toilets should be illegal
We've all been there, caught at work, late for the train, stressed out, busting for the loo, search your pockets and no change ! and the other scenario - your on a long car journey, one of the kids is bursting so you pull into a public parking area only to find that the loos are chargeable and you cant find 30p in change. Its an ridiculous system, sends out the wrong message to visiting foreigners, is awful for the elderly, feeds the selfish society culture, will raise very little money, makes everyone angry and is a real inconvenience !

Sorry, totally disagree! Like most services you expect to pay to use it so why should toilets be any different? I'd rather pay a small charge to use a toilet knowing that it was clean, well-lit and safe. Machines should provide change or accept cards but if people aren't carrying cash around then really that's an issue for that person! It's not difficult not to carry loose change!

tastyfish · 1 July 2015 at 11:40PM

There should be a 'CAT standard' for all financial products, such as insurance to enable customers to compare products more easily. It's all too easy for customers to select an insurance product, particularly from a comparison site, based on price without knowing key benefits that aren't provided (eg protection for personal items abroad on travel insurance) or where there may be 'hidden' costs such as excessive excesses.

The system could be expanded to include CAT gold, silver and bronze level standards, to help customers ensure they have adequate cover or an acceptable level of benefits.

A system without standards, even using comparison sites, makes it difficult to compare financial products on a 'like for like' basis.

tastyfish · 2 July 2015 at 6:49AM

Parents of twins, triplets, etc lose out on child benefit through no fault of their own. Therefore, whilst benefit should be limited to the first birth, all children should qualify in the event that birth was a multiple one.

tastyfish · 2 July 2015 at 6:54AM

Prescriptions in Wales should have a small element of payment, such as £4, or be in line with rest of the UK and not be completely free. The money saved could be spent on better healthcare or passed off as a tax-saving to taxpayers who currently fund this vote-appeasing policy.

thompa124 · 2 July 2015 at 10:46AM

Smart Energy Meters
I have a smart Electricity Meter and so manual meter readings are no longer required ... but my Gas Meter still need to be read.
How about requiring Gas companies to install 'smart' Gas Meter reading equipment?

Another idea... get rid of the sham energy market and simply pay the supplier!

thompa124 · 2 July 2015 at 10:56AM

Whatever happened to community?
The fact that I don't have kids in education shouldn't mean that I no longer pay for schools!
There are costs that we have to take on as a community.
Try thinking of the bin men recording how many bins each house has and passing that information back.... infrastructure costs (putting a bin lorry and bin men in a street, and taking to a tip) are the primary costs... I would anticipate that there is little difference whether houses have different amounts of rubbish.... Overall the total amount of rubbish only varies with seasons.