Dignity in Care

I have to register my astonishment listening to the news coverage on the Commission on Dignity in Care.  How can we have reached the position where we have to tell  caring professions that care, respect and ensuring dignity to the people they look after is needed?

I talked about this with a friend of mine recently.  A former nurse – retired some 10 years, she was similarly outraged  at how the profession she dedicated her life to seems to have lost connection with its core value.

In my view, it is not about money it is about attitude.  It costs nothing to be polite, kind or thoughtful.

Hosepipe Ban?

Sutton and East Surrey Water has just announced that water levels in boreholes are not rising and remain well below average for the time of year.   The reservoir that serves parts of Morden is 74% full.   This all means that we could be faced with a hosepipe ban this year.

Litter

If there is one thing that drives me crazy, it is litter.

There is no excuse in my book for dropping litter – there are bins around  (I’ve seen people drop litter who are an arms length from a litter bin) and if there are no bins around, you simply keep it in your bag or pocket until you get home.

Particularly annoying is litter thrown out of the window of a car – there is, in my view, even less excuse for that – as having a bag in the car is so easy to sort out.

So I was drawn to a statement made by The Highways Agency this week, calling on road users to help tackle roadside litter on England’s motorways and major A roads.   Not only is litter unsightly, it blocks drains, can cause flooding, it  can hurt wildlife and be a threat to the environment.

According to the Agency  that it removes an estimated quarter of a million sacks of litter from England’s motorways every year.  Evidently, a campaign was run in North West England and the East Midlands – reminding drivers to dispose of rubbish responsibly, and it has had some effect – so this campaign will be extended, with the Agency working with Defra and Keep Britain Tidy to raise awareness of the dangers and costs of litter.

I sincerely hope that it has the effect of reducing the volume if litter across the rest of the country.

 

 

Prompt Payment

Those of you following my Twitter feed will notice that I was at a conference earlier in the week on procurement in the public sector.  It was hosted by Surrey Chamber of Commerce and the meeting received presentations from Surrey County Council, Epsom Borough Council amongst others, looking at options for small and medium sized businesses in public sector procurement.

The presentation started with a  justification from the Leader of Conservative-led Surrey Council Council (SCC) for inflicting a nearly 3% increase in council tax on its citizen – it was not entirely clear to me exactly how that was connected to the topic at hand – but the event started that way nontheless.

During the Q&A session the issue of payment terms was raised, particularly in the context of smaller companies working in a sub-contract basis for the main contract-holder.  One attendee reported that he was waiting longer than is appropriate for payment and that it is difficult to challenge a main contractor for fear of the commercial consequences.  Small companies fear that they will adversely affect their relationship with the main provider and perhaps not get work in future.

So I was interested to open my emails  and see that the Government and industry is calling on businesses and public organisations to pay suppliers on time and for small firms to pursue those who put them at risk of delaying.

The Business Minister Mark Prisk announced on 6 Feb, that a new working group of business representatives would examine issues behind late payment, while the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) published a new guide on prompt payment.

The Government is encouraging SMEs to:

• Proactively agree payment terms before delivering orders
• Sign-up to the Government’s Prompt Payment code, run by the Institute of Credit Management (ICM)
• Raise complaints over late payment from Code signatories
• Use legislation already in place to help companies pursue late payers.
• Use electronic invoicing where possible

There is a ‘Get Paid’ guide for small businesses has been published by the ACCA.  Evidently this guide contains valuable lessons from small businesses including advice on invoicing and developing a well-defined credit policy.

I would be interested to hear from local businesses on their experience of payments, particularly if they are working in the public sector.