I suspect there has been a mix-up somewhere that a quick phone call to the local housing office could no doubt have sorted out. And – talk about kicking a man when he’s down – Cllr Simms was probably ‘unavilable for comment’ when the press called because the poor guy also has to work for a living during the day!

However, I suppose one could say ‘well done, Ian Austin’ for spotting a quick headline to be hand at the Council’s expense. Shame though that he isn’t so quick off the mark to tell the people of Dudley North how his government plans to extract their troops from Afghanistan or pay off the £700,000,000,000 of debt that his prime minister has now saddled them all with.

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I think she is very lucky to get a council house were everyting is payed for roofs heating ect which home owners are paying through there taxes,secondley if i bought a house could i get the council to pay for the improvements!!!!! i could really see dudley council saying yes (not)

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I wonder how long this premises was in this state and who felt it would be acceptable. I also find it disgraceful that in this day and age, we have people living like this. Finally, I wonder if the Council would have been ‘unavailable’ for comment had this building been given to say, immigrants. I wonder if it would have been in the same state.

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I wish someone would hand me the keys to a free house, whatever state it’s in. I’d just get on with it and try and sort it out.

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Thanks for the support Hillary! The council does have a policy of allowing people to view suitable properties whilst repair work is being carried out but would not normally allow people to view such a property without an officer present.

The so called ‘live’ cables were in fact a single redundant cable which was not live and will be removed. The rubbish was there as a result of fly tipping and has been removed today. All the council is trying to do is give potential tenants the opportunity to say yes to a property with the knowledge that the council will then guarantee that major jobs will be done prior to the handover of keys. This is to shorten the time that a property will remain empty.

The problem for the council is how to ensure that the property is secured during the time between council workers finishing their jobs and keys being handed over to the new tenant. That is what the issue was here and I can assure you that it is being dealt with.

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JimG – so are you suggesting that we only permit full-time councillors to stand for office? In which case you would probably need to pay them thirty grand a year each instead.

Or, on reflection, would you prefer we stick with the present (far cheaper) system whereby councillors are drawn from the communities they serve? In which case you will have to accept that, like the people in the communities they serve, they too have to do a job of work in order to feed and clothe their kids?

In the latter instance, you will also have to accept that the nature of the varied jobs they often hold down means it is not always going to be possible for them to drop what they’re doing right there and then just because the local Labour MP has rushed out his latest press release.

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I will be writing to my MP’s if they can be of any help to others facing the council alone. And I would gladly forward photo’s, emails and letters on to the newspaper to further support complaints aout this council’s housing inadequacies.
(Apologies for any typing errors in the above btw – feeling are running fairly high on this subject as you may well appreciate)

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Ray, a councillor is there to represent the people who pay the expenses that they claim, many councillors claim expenses amounting to 4 or 5 times the minimum wage, there isn’t the slightest reason in the world for them to have another job except pure greed.

That’s the problem with MP’s and Councillors, they don’t live in the same world as the people they represent, how can an MP on £300.000 a year know what its like to have to exist on the minimum wage of £13.000 a year??????

Had this been given to an immigrant family or asylum seekers this property would have been gone through with a fine toothcomb to make sure it was faultless.

If you’re a councillor and your income is more than £30.000 a year then you have no right to have any other job than that of representing the people who put you into office.

Having an income of £30.000 a year is only a dream for most of the residents living in the West Midlands.

If they have no meetings to attend they can always be given a broom and shovel to clean up the mess round the borough.

Jim of Bearwood.

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ITS OK WE ARE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THIS ONCE GREAT NATION. WE ARE HAPPY TO BE TREATED LIKE PIGS, WE DESERVE TO BE TREATED LIKE PIGS. ITS GOING TO GET WORSE IM AFRAID. A CARING SOCIETY MY ARSE.

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Whether a house is free or not is irrelevant really. At the end of the day if a house is offered it should be in a state that is fit to live in.

Cllr David Simms have you actually been to the property yourself? – I doubt it

Would you live in the property yourself? – I doubt it.

Do you actually care? – Again i doubt it. As long as the numbers are rolled out and targets are met. You have probably had that many people grateful for housing in the past they will take anything. So you think you can offer anything.

Just because its offered for ‘free’ as people keep saying there is no need for the council to take the p**s.

And the people who keep saying you can clear it up. How can you clear up boarded up windows?

Dont take your hatred out on genuine people who actually qualify for housing the right way, when really you should be slamming the council for offering places to illegal immigrants that shouldnt even be here in this country.

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i agree with #8 sam. we are a family of 4 (2 adults,2 children)living in a 1 bedroom 3rd floor flat and are bidding week in week out to get a 2 or 3 bed house. we cant get out of here no matter what we do. a property was recently given up 50 yards away from where we live i even offerd the person money and her removal to her new house but in the end she “done a runner” along with the kitchen but not the 17 cats she left behind. last but not least how is this house free? the new tenant has to pay the rent ,council tax etc! surely nearly if not all of the persons who have commented on this article have been in council accomodation at some point so this is far from a free house

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i am sorry but i am sick of hearing the “illegal immigrant” story, the only reason immigrants get properties is that they are prepared to go to supported accom first as they are homeless!!!! the only reason this property had “bar it” boards up the windows is simple…without them the windows would be smashed by yobs and most probably set fire to costing MORE TAX PAYERS MONEY, wasting more time i.e longer waiting lists!!!! and the litter was from a skip! even the moaning lady said the property wasnt that bad inside. DMBC cant do anything right!

the new way of bidding also gives people the choice of what they bid on, so surely she could have gone around and had a look at the property from the outside before???

this lady just thinks by going to the paper she will get offered something better!!!

PFFFFFTTTT!!! some people really makes me angry.

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Cllr Ray Burston you said: “Even after the recent 25% rise (which I, along with many of my colleagues, opposed) Dudley’s councillors will receive just short of £10,000 per annum in basic allowance, for which they will often be required to spend three or four nights out each week”

£10,000 per annum in basic allowance????? so 3 meetings a week times 52 weeks = 156 so that’s £10.000 divided by 156 that works out about £64 a night, not a bad pick up when you think of the average wage for thousands of your Council Tax Payers is about £40 a day for an 8 hour shift.

Cllr Ray Burston, you have just made my case for me: “Regarding the Council’s budget, council house spending is ‘ring-fenced’ in what is known as the Housing Revenue Account comprised of rents and other specific government housing grants. It is forbidden by law to use money from elsewhere in the Council’s main budget to pay for the maintenance of our council housing stock. This has to all be paid for out of the proceeds of the HRA account instead” And that’s the problem all council budgets have to be used up or the budget gets cut next year, there is no incentive for Councils to attempt to make savings that will result in the Council Tax being cut for Dudley residents.

To the people who keep harping on about a free house, she is not getting a free house, she has paid tax, her parents would have paid tax, her grandparents would have probably have gone to war to protect this country, she is getting only what is due to her.

Jim of Bearwood.

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JimG

Three meetings a week? Er, no, not quite.

More like three formal meetings a week (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how your particular meetings line up the six-weekly committee cycle), plus other non-committee meetings (such as training and briefing sessions), plus other miscellaneous meetings of residents’ groups, disability support groups, etc, plus phone calls from residents with problems, plus phone calls and e-mails to officers to sort those problems out, plus the time necessary to read, research and digest council business (and I assure you some committee agendas rival telephone directories in size!). Then add on top of that the effort necessary to promote your particular party’s cause (organising, campaigning, leaflet delivery, etc) – not strictly speaking council business, I know, but you are a councillor and therefore a leading figure in your party, so it has to be done and you have to demonstrate a lead in doing it.

Indeed, recounting all these things reminds me why my wife is always moaning that she never sees me! So were ine to measure these things in strictly monetary terms I’d say most councillors probably earn their £10,000 a year.

However, that is to miss the point. The principal reason why I have opposed increasing councillors’ allowances is not just because it places a needless burden on our already burdened council taxpayers, but because I believe that it is vital for local democracy that a healthy measure of the ‘voluntary’ element of being councillor is retained. And by edging allowances up to the point where they do start to become a salary that element is not only weakened, but the risk increases that people will be attracted to becoming a councillor (and for seeking advancement on the council) with entirely the wrong motives.

Added to which, as your posts have proved, when councillors receive large sums of money for what they do people will demand an instant response (not unreasonably, they probably think – after all, they’re ‘paying’ for the service!). However, when councillors – including Cabinet members for Housing – still have jobs and families to attend to that is simply not always going to be possible.

That said, even on £10,000 a year basic allowance I doubt if the electoral registration office will be inundated with applicants standing for election next May. In fact, all the main parties sometimes have to scratch around to find candidates in local elections – even in winnable seats! So perhaps, on balance, being a councillor – and having to take onboard all the duties, commitments and responsibilities that go with it – is not such a good screw after all.

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