The Environment Agency is to shed 1,700 of its staff

[laguna]

Massive job cuts at the Environment Agency - UK Politics - UK - The Independent


Overstaffed and under-resourced?
Important work no doubt, but in case you're wondering what all those staff are doing with tiddler nets in the pool click the pic

 

[jacksharp]

I don't really think anyone will notice the difference!

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

That's the river Teme? We're doomed!

 

[Paul Boote]

Yeah, all this running the international economic "race" and going for Growth is bound to have its casualties. To hell with some organ of a now despised "bloated Fat Cat" State, let's trash the Country.

Government's growth drive means England's most treasured landscapes can be 'vandalised' by developers - Home News - UK - The Independent

 

[pointngo]

I was at a lake last week when 4 EA blokes turned up in 4 different cars. They spent an hour or so chatting in the carpark then spent the next 3 hours checking 1 valve which consisted of opening it, watching water coming out the pipe, then closing it!

They then spent an hour chatting about what was on tv before they left.. they were right behind me so I heard every word.

with the low water levels on the lake there are a lot of big swan mussels exposed and one of them thought they were cockles!

so that's approx. 20 man hours to check one valve, along with 4 lots of petrol expenses!

I know they're not all bad but EA staff wasting money like this should be sacked. How can they claim underfunding when they throw money away?

 

[Paul Boote]

Then again, look around almost any office. See the covert phone-users, the private emailers, the game-players, the asleep at their desk sorts - do as little as you can and get away with it; it's endemic, part of the national mindset and culture.

 

[steph mckenzie]

Don't just blame them, blame the bosses that don't know what it is that there staff isn't doing.

 

[Paul Boote]

Very much so, Steph - it is merely the result of the ancient contempt that British workers have for their well-salaried and -pensioned, often utterly hopeless bosses and masters.

 

[pointngo]

I agree with you both to an extent; their bosses should be keeping a much closer eye on what the workers (cough) are or aren't doing but at the same time a lot of their work must be in relatively remote areas so they have to take their own responsibility for it.

in every job you're always going to get a few shirkers but this was wholesale timewasting. I'd assume that one of the 4 was a senior staff member so if they have no intention of controlling the staff whilst on site, and indeed are not doing any work themselves, there's not much hope. It shows that this time and money wasting is down to, and carried out by, several levels of EA staff. This is just one instance on one day.. multiply that by a percentage of 11,400 staff over a year and it runs into many millions being squandered.

You have to wonder who employs people who don't even know what a swan mussel is as well!?

It just riles me that they always quote underfunding as the reason for not checking licenses, following up on illegal fishing etc yet waste our license money like this.

I've long been of the opinion that rod license fees should be taken out of the hands of the EA and this just enforces my view.

 

[Paul Boote]

Yeah, all this running the international economic "race" and going for Growth is bound to have its casualties. To hell with some organ of a now despised "bloated Fat Cat" State, let's trash the Country.

Government's growth drive means England's most treasured landscapes can be 'vandalised' by developers - Home News - UK - The Independent

Interesting episode in the Radio 4 Shared Planet series today - Restriction and Choice.

Click this link to take you to a BBC page that will allow you to download the 28-minute 13MB programme - BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - Best of Natural History Radio

If we want anything wild - fish or whatever - around in the future, we have got to start acting (and choosing and restricting ourselves in some cases) NOW.

 

[nicepix]

Then again, look around almost any office. See the covert phone-users, the private emailers, the game-players, the asleep at their desk sorts - do as little as you can and get away with it; it's endemic, part of the national mindset and culture.

And where do you get that opinion from? Have you recently worked in an office?

 

[Paul Boote]

And where do you get that opinion from? Have you recently worked in an office?

You obnoxious little cuss, Nicepix. Go away and think of the Yorkshire you left behind when you fled to France.

Moderators: Whip this little chappie in again, please. I am tired of him and his 8 years of multi-site "side" towards me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tonybull]

Then again, look around almost any office. See the covert phone-users, the private emailers, the game-players, the asleep at their desk sorts - do as little as you can and get away with it; it's endemic, part of the national mindset and culture.

Freeloaders, living off the back of hardworking people

 

[Paul Boote]

The great majority of "hard-working people" now quietly sigh (or privately p' themselves laughing) when they hear politicians use the expression ten times in almost as many to-camera or on-radio soundbite lines.

"Try doing some work, mate...".

 

[The bad one]

Oh dear oh dear what should be a serious thread degenerates into cat fight again.
Suggest you stop and think about the ramifications of losing those staff from a protection/pollution point of view. It's highly likely that the age group who will go are the older end of the spectrum. Those staff are likely to be the ones with knowledge and expertise base of dealing with polluters. They will have seen it all, heard it all of excuses given for why a polluter polluted X watercourse. In short they will have ability to see through the bullsh*t. Not sure the younger one will or can, nor will they have the extensive knowledge base the staff lost have accrued over the many years in the job.

I’ll predict here that with these cuts will come more self-regulation by polluters on themselves, because the EA wont have the staff to do it, so they’ll be forced into it for that reason. And if you think self-regulation is good for the environment, then sadly you are thicker than I give you credit for!

If there was ever a case for the ATr getting off its arse and doing something, then this is it! It should be campaigning vigorously against these cuts.

This like it or not is a trashing by stealth, by this government, of the regulations we have on the environment. They dear not do it openly as that will provoke public anger and challenges through the EU and probably the courts. So they are doing it by a 1700 cuts/with more to come no doubt, and handing the polluters a charter to POLLUTE.

 

[nicepix]

You obnoxious little cuss, Nicepix. Go away and think of the Yorkshire you left behind when you fled to France.

Moderators: Whip this little chappie in again, please. I am tired of him and his 8 years of multi-site "side" towards me.

Thanks in advance.

I'm sure that many will take offence to someone making out that virtually anyone who works in an office are skiving as you described. Especially coming from someone who seems to have dodged work all his adult life. Therefore I would like to know where you get your information from?

These days staff levels have tended to have been cut to the bone and many office workers I know and have worked with don't have the time to do their job properly let alone skive.

I think that the EA is no different to other Government agencies including police, health and education in that their budgets have been cut by central office and therefore jobs have to go. Then you get to the point where the agency cannot fulfill its legal functions and a catastrophe occurs.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I am not sure of the history of employment in the EA, however, in almost every other major organisation, private or public, there has been an absolute revolution in office facilities, computing power and automation etc.

I would have thought that the majority of those who will be leaving would be non-essential, non front line personnel, in other words many of the office bound workers who, may well be, currently not 100% busy 100% of the time.

Unlike Phil I am not convinced that this is a "stealth" move to downgrade our hard fought for environmental protection rules and safefguards, but more of an across the board reduction in budget costs.

Until and unless we get to see a full listing of the people and the jobs that they actually accomplish then it is impossible to make any sort of informed judgement.

 

[S-Kippy]

I am not sure of the history of employment in the EA, however, in almost every other major organisation, private or public, there has been an absolute revolution in office facilities, computing power and automation etc.

I would have thought that the majority of those who will be leaving would be non-essential, non front line personnel, in other words many of the office bound workers who, may well be, currently not 100% busy 100% of the time.

Not so Peter....not in the public sector anyway. True the rise of the computer & on line stuff has lead to a lot of "backroom" jobs disappearing but when [like me] you are caught up in administering the law of the land the simple facts are that however a "thing" is done,somebody,somewhere,somehow has to do it. Get rid of the backroom & support staff and its the front line that ends up doing it because there is nobody else left.

Most of the indignant outrage in the press about public sector waste & organisations being "not fit for purpose" can be attributed to this. Too few people left to do too much. Mrs S is caught up in trying to introduce this Universal Credit caper while her Dept is shedding thousands of jobs. It will fail because the suits who are trying to look important have the power brokers ear & nobody is listening to the people on the front line doing a very,very demanding job for not very much money.

Immigration is another good example. The IO's just dont have time to do the proper checks because there are not enough of them & if they did every port/airport in the UK would be at a standstill within hours.

And when your salary budget is cut by the Treasury you dont really have much choice but to lose jobs. I'm not saying what's going on in terms of modernisation is wrong...but it seems pretty daft to try to do everything all at the same time and then wonder why it goes tits up.

And then blame someone else.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Fair points S-Kippy, I hadn't given much thought to the fact that some of the front line staff might have to return to base so to speak to do some of the administrative duties.

I have first hand (sad) knowledge of the Immigration department "workings" (if that isn't an oxymoron) my American stepson had to wait over a year for his "permanent" right to reside visa even though their official website says that 99% of all cases are completed withing 6 months.

The poor beggar couldn't even go back to the US for a holiday as the department keep your passport while application is being made.
This, b.t.w., was his 4th Visa in 10 years so it really should have been almost a "rubber stamp" jobbie in all honesty.

 

[steph mckenzie]

It's just a shame that people have to lose their jobs, regardless of the circumstances. Necessary, yes, but sad none the less.