Mike Steptoe is the affable Tory councillor for Barling and Sutton, and is the cabinet member for “Enterprise”. Which means he’s the person who makes decisions about whether to have free car parking in council car parks at Xmas, and whether to charge the NHS for using car parking spaces for breast screening or other health checks.
He’s just made the following decisions – you can download the document here.
First of all, there’s going to be the usual free parking in council car parks on Saturdays mornings in December before Christmas – the 5th, 12th and 19th. However Cllr Steptoe turned down the idea of boosting trade for the sales period by having an extra free Saturday morning after Christmas.
Secondly, there is the controversial question of whether to charge the NHS for having a breast cancer screening service in one of our car parks. The council currently charges the NHS at a reduced rate – ?1066 for a four month period. The new policy is to give a fixed 75% reduction for any organisation serving the public. On this basis the NHS would pay ?909 for four months.
The amounts of money are not huge, and some people will say this is a reasonable compromise. Others will say that the breast screening service is coming to benefit our residents and shouldnt be charged at all. As a comparison, if you were an employer and a cancer screening service were offering to come to your premises free of charge and screen your employees, would you charge them for taking up space in your company car park?
Was there any consultation with residents undertaken by the Council before this decision was made?
I vote to take the money from the £11.7 BILLION that we give away every year to other countries. Is it me…..
Take from the £11.7 billion? No way will this ever happen under the tories. No they will make our poor pay. The poorly paid are the most useless and a complete burden on the middle and upper class tory prospective voters anyhow. The poorest will pay, again.
Take from the £11.7 billion? No way will this ever happen under the tories. No they will make our poor pay. The poorly paid are the most useless and a complete burden on the middle and upper class tory prospective voters anyhow. The poorest will pay, again. Got to keep the toffs happy.
I don’t profess to hold any major certificates in mathematics but how is a reduction of 75% on charges calculated if the full cost is £1066 for four months and the reduced charge is £909 for the same period ? That looks like a 25% reduction not 75% to me.
To state the NHS hasn’t queried the charge is not surprising because from news reports recently the top leaders in administration of that organisation are not terribly concerned with spending public money just intent on feeding their salary and pension pots (sound familiar?) It must cost almost as much in billing and office administration between the two organisations as is collected in fees in this situation.
Linda, sorry for not being clear (not enough sleep last night). Up till now the council has been offering a reduced rate I think specific for the NHS that brought the charge down to £1066, now they are going to use a different formula to make it £909
Admin. Thanks for the explanation.
John Mason. What would be the point of discussing anything with them they do as they like anyway? Save your breath and energy.
Tory Boy. Quite! I suppose we must keep paying for all those overseas jaunts where the ‘great white men’ can distribute their country’s largesse to the poor grateful population whilst prostrating themselves and begging forgiveness for past wrongs. Remember Gordon Brown with his ‘billions’ in Africa? Then they kid you they are not racist. They make me sick because they would cross the road rather than help anyone in their own back yard. But then its not sunny here is it?