So, if you'd just found a spare £250 million for councils to spend...

[GrimmaTheNome]

What would you like it spent on?

Would weekly rubbish collections be anywhere near the top of your list?

winter fuel allowance for folks who retired at 50 on a full pension and spend their days strutting around John Lewis. Hang on...

nope would probably be not cutting benefits for terminally ill people but hey thats just me.

Respite care for carers!

Spend it sorting rural roads out.

I'd also happily divert some of the £££ currently earmarked for Crossrail and a pointlessly 20-minutes-faster-to-London HS2 to investing in reviving the Oxford-Cambridge line, to reduce pressure on London transport hubs and make travelling across the country less time-consuming and unpleasant.

Oh and I'd renationalise British Rail, but that's a whole nother thread

Leave the bins as they are and spend the extra cash on fox and rat extermination.

I'd make sure there were enough Parent Support Advisers in every school. PSAs are amazing - but over-worked and undervalued.

keeping open our little surgery instead of making everyone drive to the main surgery in the next village

Libraries, I want to see more - popping up everywhere, if you please.

But even my libraries need to come second to the nhs, and services for the elderly and children. Keep the day centres!

Social Workers. Everyone complains about them but there is a thread about children waiting in care rather than being adopted. Let's not sack SW who could do this work.

I'd quite like to see carer support but from a selfish perspective I know; currently really struggling with my boys (2 asd, 1 suspected add, one suspected asd) but we don't fall into anyone's criteria; am aware my health, M and P, is slowly disintegrating and that doing something active most days might help but can't do more than cover basics most days. When Dh is away or working that means staying at home in front of PC watching their every move (PC in main room)

If I was allocating the money though I'd probably look at homeless families seeing as their numbers are rising so fast. State made the decision to alter the system in a way that makes more people at risk, so they could at least try and do something to support those that fall through.

Restoring the winter fuel allowance for people getting the highest rate of DLA might work as well given we are predicted a cold winter. Or proper meals on wheels. Or...

Counselling for those who desperately - more than anything else in the world - want their bins to be missed this week.

:o

I mean it may not be the best use of the money, but the RAGE bemuses me.

Ok, but apart from that. I do think the libraries, but I guess they were doomed anyway.

How bout saving our armed forces?? the day the say about the spare £250 mil is the same day our Navy cuts were made.

Oh the rage i felt reading the bin news after being told my partner has lost his job after 7 years service - would not amuse anyone

I think that amount of money might just pay for a year-long world cruise for the whole Coalition government.

Meanwhile, I would open up their mansions to homeless families and get the Green party to form a government. When the Coalition came back, they could go on benefits - unless the Greens decide you can only claim if you've been in the country for the last year.

Use it to reduce the deficit

Not bins. there are loads of better things to spend the money on. Take your pick
support for carers
cared for children
emergency housing
DV support
disabled facilities grants
social housing
education
social care

It's not that much really when you spread it out across the whole country and all the LAs but it could make a much better difference.

Leave the bins, keep the libraries in our area, that would take £800,000 leaving £249,200 million for something else.