"Our Hands Are Tied - Fortunately"

There is a story you often hear in town halls, in council chambers and in around local government offices.  When you complain about decisions that have been made you hear it a lot. It goes like this: "Westminster has tied our hands, what you ask for is beyond our powers to give, central government and its agencies determine policy and funding and for that reason we cannot allow local people to influence what we do" There's a lot of truth in it. Ours is a ridiculously and oppressively centralised country, more than any other mature democracy.

And that story, as told by officers and councillors, implies that they would love it to be otherwise. Nothing would satisfy them more than engaging in genuine debates and consultations with local people to achieve a consensus about the way forward, whether it be about libraries, parks, roads public transport etc. And that is absolutely not true.

The top-downism of the system is just what guarantees them a comparatively quiet life. Taking away responsibility from them and handing it over to some remote body protects them from accountability. They love it. In fact at times they actually initiate it as their way of dealing with those local people they identify as 'the awkward ones' (who could that be?)

An example from a recent letter about Blacka Moor from Sheffield's Head of Parks and Countryside. In response to my letter complaining that Sheffield Council was colluding with SRWT to put themselves beyond scrutiny, he  made the following points:

1 That SCC and SRWT are now signed up to the Sheffield Moors Partnership Masterplan. This effectively puts most decisions and work beyond the public's ability to influence.
2 That designations of SSSI and others operate on Blacka effectively limiting the scope of public engagement. (these designations were imposed with the connivance of SCC officers who had not seen fit to involve public or elected representatives in any form of consultation).

"Nothing to do with me, squire. "