In Spain hefty fines are being issued to people not obeying lockdown rules Useful on many levelsA. Ensuring more people stay at homeB. Preventing spreadC. Recouping money for the government. Although as no one is obliged to carry ID in this country not sure how it would be feasible.
Sean Wales ● 2415d21 Comments
A lot would depend on who was responsible for enforcing it and where the money went. If the police reinforced by cadets and army reservists were running it and the money went straight to the NHS it would definitely be a good thing.However, the leader of Hounslow Council has clearly spotted an opportunity judging by his comments about Chiswick shoppers and the dispatch of his enforcement officers. He is eyeing the chance to create a new revenue stream by being given expanded powers to fine local businesses and residents. The problem will be that council enforcement of this kind tends to be sub-contracted to firms who are given collection targets and who pay their staff close to minimum wage. Where they have been in operation so far to combat littering etc. there is a pattern of them focusing on soft targets such as elderly people and families. What is likely to happen is that should the council be given such powers their enforcement officers during the crisis, they would ignore a gang of youths congregated on Chiswick Back Common but issue a PCN to a little old lady walking her spaniel who they will say had already been out that day.As with parking right at this moment we know that what enforcement there would be would be concentrated in Chiswick.
Francis Rowe ● 2415d
Well there hasn't been any visible parking enforcement in my street for at least a week. There's a yellow line one door down from me by a fire hydrant. I do wish we had a bit less of this very Chiswick sense of victimhood. We are going to be relying very heavily on Council services such as social care and rubbish collection. I would bet that most of those employees are not resident in Chiswick. I agree with the criticism of outsourcing but it's only recently that the tide has begun to turn with Sodexho staff joining the Imperial NHS trust from April 1. Many of the lauded 'economies' that local government has made have come at the expense of both workers and democratic accountability.
David McLoughlin ● 2415d
In Spain police are enforcing. Even in remote rural areas. More than two people in car or shopping or even dog walking too far from home.
Krysia Gdaniec ● 2415d
One big problem is we do not have the Police to enforce . These continental countries have all sorts of police and civil guard types. The Police have there work cut out as it is without this . The army has also been cut right down.
John Martin ● 2415d
People should be fined what are allowing building works to continue on their properties too.
Stewart Jones ● 2414d
The logic goes:- we need people to dramatically reduce the interactions with other people- we tried asking but we were ignored and people were idiots / selfish (going to pub etc.)- we have set out rules but people are still idiots / selfish and still creating risksSo the logic is that we need enforcement and some form of penalty...Its not about revenue gain (minimal) but about slowing it down. Fines are needed, soon.
Alan Clark ● 2414d
Unfortunately I agree with you Alan. There is no reasoning with the mob. Only the most exceptional of Chiswick exceptionalists could try to argue that the enforcers are themselves contravening the government's policy.
Paul Campbell ● 2414d
Agreed , you only have to look at "Spiked" on line to realise that there are plenty of libertarian idiots about.
David Burke ● 2414d
Not saying for one second that enforcement won't be necessary and desirable. However, if it is done badly it will be counterproductive. It'll be done badly if it is run by the council and they introduce the same sort of target based incentives to the enforcers as they currently have with parking and littering.As for Chiswick exceptionalism, it was the leader of the Council who singled out this part of the borough for criticism despite the fact that every high street in the country was busier than it should have been last Sunday. It is not a coincidence that this is the only area that didn't elect councillors from his party. Petty parochial politics at exactly the wrong time.
Francis Rowe ● 2414d
What a perfect time to raise party political point scoring. Hope you feel better. Keep stirring the wrong pot.
I wonder why Steve Curran felt compelled to come to Chiswick on Sunday to see if the government’s message “stay at home” had sunk in?
Alan, I would hope that my posting history on this forum would provide a sound indication that I have no party political allegiance. You will find a number of posts expressing my very low opinion of Boris Johnson for instance.I don't know how long you have been in Chiswick but it used to be the case that Hounslow Council fairly unashamedly took every opportunity to take as much money out of the area to give to wards where their councillors represented. This included charging far more for parking in W4. A number of people I know in Chiswick who have worked with Steve Curran describe him as straight talking and fair minded. He spends more time in the area that previous leaders of the council who wouldn't have been seen dead in and even his political opponents didn't claim he has an anti-Chiswick agenda.It is therefore surprising to see him make the statement that he did. I wasn't out driving in Chiswick on Sunday because the government instruction was to stay at home but I'm sure Cllr Curran had a perfectly good reason to be out. What I did see on that day was a constant stream of news reports showing that high streets across the nation were busy.You need to ask yourself, did Cllr Curran on his drive encounter tumbleweed along the way except when he came to Chiswick High Road and then all of a sudden he encountered crowds of revellers hugging and embracing as they got their hair cut and bought books? The financial pressures that local authorities will be under will be far far worse as a result of this crisis and the perverse decision to continue parking enforcement shows that they are already looking to protect revenue streams. In this light Cllr Curran's comments could cause you concern. If local authorities are given extra powers of enforcement as part of measures as part of the effort to reduce infection can we say with confidence that those powers will be used effectively and even-handedly in Hounslow Borough?
There is no doubt it was an ill-judged comment but the man shouldn't be judged on just this one thing. He deserves support from across the community at this time. That said I think you are right on enforcement - as soon as it is driven by financial concerns the original purpose gets lost. More police as quickly as possible is what's needed right now.
Paul Corcoran ● 2414d
Are you both really genuinely at a loss as to why Steve might have been motivated to check on what was happening in Chiswick on Sunday?
Steve Curran would not have made a journey just to go and have a look see at Chiswick High Road. That would have been against government advice to avoid unnecessary trips.I presume, given your unhealthy obsession with her, the answer you are bursting to give us is that Chiswick was busy because of Cllr Biddolph's efforts to get people to support local businesses. In doing so she always stressed government guidance on social distancing which at the time most people would agree was a genuine attempt to balance the competing needs of her constituents.The government didn't decide to mandatorily close 'non-essential' businesses the following day because of all the people in Chiswick. If you had been watching the news you would have seen it was a national issue with the good weather and fears of imminent further restrictions causing more people than normal to go to High Streets.It is not long since you yourself were dismissing World Health Organisation advice about people avoiding public transport so you need to reflect if your new found zealotry on the issue is not motivated by something other than concern for the public good. In carrying over your petty disputes into this time of national crisis you are misjudging the spirit of the time which was exemplified at 8pm last night.
The knots that apologists tie themselves in. Steve Curran did exactly what any sensible leader would have done in the circumstances to ensure that people were following the correct government advice. I am glad that you are able to connect the dots so that you can better understand why he did what he did. Your attempt to take the moral high ground is pretty weak considering your efforts to denigrate him on this one.
PC: Patronising?
Jeffrey Cope ● 2413d
Just for the record, in my postbag I have one person complaining about parking enforcement (self-isolating in a CPZ where she doesn't have a permit) and one complaining about lack of enforcement (can't park in my area because there is no enforcement against unauthorised vehicles).Work attendance amongst parking wardens is about 50% currently cf Hounslow Highways and Recycle360 - both above 80%
Guy Lambert ● 2413d
People were out in Brentford as well, Paul, but you're not carping on about that. Curious.
David Lesniak ● 2412d
Never mind David, to every minus there's a plus or in this instance two:-1) Cyclists, as well as cars, banned in Richmond Park2) CW9 construction halted.😉
Loraine Pemberton ● 2412d
So, despite Jeffrey thinking this is very simple, it seems that not everybody is capable of joining the dots.
Paul Campbell ● 2412d