Honour in NI's Politicians?

donnac2558

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

How do the English make it work?

They are the only place that has prescription charges. Scotland, Wales and us all free.


No idea but they are bigger and most people working perhaps? More people in N.I claiming benefits of some sort that means they will get free prescriptions. I think 50p from each person here for their prescription would not be a great hardship. When the idea was put forward it wasn't even per item on the prescription but the full prescription no matter how many items on it. If I remember hey it was over 3 years back.:p It would raise ££££££.


I remember the idea when water charges was coming here. Now they were going by the price of your property and not metering. I thought that was unfair, I live in NIHE but what is considered a nicer place so prices of properties at that time would have been higher than someone living half a mile away. Also a friend had 5 people in her home which is owned dishwater, washing machine on 2 or 3 times a day all taking showers everyday. I am on my own no dish washer an only use my washing machine a few times a week and would have paid the same water charge. Metering all the way.

qwert_yuiop

Unemployment rate here is a fair bit lower than plenty of places in England. The rate in many parts here is effectively zero.

They fitted meters to houses in the south, then abandoned the charge. Give it time.

ballyblack

I think 50p from each person here for their prescription would not be a great hardship.

except it would take more than 50p to administer (working out who has not to pay) and collect

donnac2558

No, it was every single person apart from children who would pay the 50p, pensioners those on benefits etc.

ballyblack

donnac2558 wrote: »

No, it was every single person apart from children who would pay the 50p, pensioners those on benefits etc.

collecting even 50p costs money

belfastgirl23

donnac2558 wrote: »

I remember the idea when water charges was coming here. Now they were going by the price of your property and not metering. I thought that was unfair, I live in NIHE but what is considered a nicer place so prices of properties at that time would have been higher than someone living half a mile away. Also a friend had 5 people in her home which is owned dishwater, washing machine on 2 or 3 times a day all taking showers everyday. I am on my own no dish washer an only use my washing machine a few times a week and would have paid the same water charge. Metering all the way.

Considering that we all should be thinking about conserving water as much as we can it would be horrendous to introduce a flat charge, even by taking into account rateable value. All it would do is make people think ‘well I’m paying for it so I’m watering the garden every single night’.

But that would be typical of NI. When we got new electric meters a couple of years ago they didn’t install smart meters nor did they give us the option to fund the installation of smart meters ourselves. These would help us notice our consumption and potentially reduce it. And the new meters are actually really hard to read, they have a dark display LED so are worse in terms of monitoring your use than the previous ones.

Why do something right when you can do it cheap?

qwert_yuiop

[QUOTE=belfastgirl23;76753554
they didn’t install smart meters nor did they give us the option to fund the installation of smart meters ourselves. These would help us notice our consumption and potentially reduce it. And the new meters are actually really hard to read, they have a dark display LED so are worse in terms of monitoring your use than the previous ones.

Why do something right when you can do it cheap?[/QUOTE]

Reducing consumption is not really in the interests of those who sell electricity.

Ticked

donnac2558 wrote: »

I remember the idea when water charges was coming here. Now they were going by the price of your property and not metering. I thought that was unfair, I live in NIHE but what is considered a nicer place so prices of properties at that time would have been higher than someone living half a mile away. Also a friend had 5 people in her home which is owned dishwater, washing machine on 2 or 3 times a day all taking showers everyday. I am on my own no dish washer an only use my washing machine a few times a week and would have paid the same water charge. Metering all the way.

Absolutely agree. Anything other than metering is grossly unfair. Imagine the outcry if electricity and gas were subject to a charge based on house price. There would be no incentive to save power, open the windows and blast the heat 24/7! It would make RHI look like sensible peanuts. Hopefully some vestige of common sense will prevail when water charges are again mooted, and I believe they will be. If a charge based on rateable value is introduced, I’ll be investing in a water powered generator and run it off the mains water. Metering, I’ll just have to suck up the cost, but I’ll be seeking a decent reduction in the rates bill.

RikM

If we have to think about conserving water in NI, then someone has seriously screwed up...

Re: smart meters. Moving to them would be premature until they have the bugs and switching issues sorted out. Don't be alpha testers for the power companies at *your* expense.

guiriman

ballyblack wrote: »

except it would take more than 50p to administer (working out who has not to pay) and collect

On the basis of the charge alone then yes, but there's also the deterrent element. Will you go to the doctor to get a prescription for (age-old example) paracetamol if it's cheaper in Tesco (and I'm not talking about people with chronic pain)? Could save both GP time and pharmacist time while also saving money on the pills themselves