Are officers fit for the task?

Just what do our employees at the Council House in Stafford think they are doing?

I read they are to spend £1,000,000 on commissioning a survey into the closure of residential homes for the elderly. I cannot see that spending a further vast amount will make the situation better or worse.

Are the powers that be saying they are not sure whether or not they can afford to keep them open, so they need someone to tell them? Surely their internal accountants should be able to?

Are they asking to be shown the profitable way to administer them? Surely their management is employed for this reason?

Do you really need to spend £1,000,000 to be told of the financial situation you are in? If you do, you are not employing the right people and your auditors aren't very good either.

If you need an expert from outside the council, what have the council experts being doing all these years? Are they asking to close them to save ratepayers' money?

This doesn't add up because under a private regime, those eligible for free care are still paid for by the local council, those who medically can't be at home are paid for by the health service and those who can pay in full or in part do so.

We are told that nothing will change, so why change? Is it to save the wages of those employed to administer the care homes at council level?

Are we being told that they can be run more efficiently by private operators? Do they pay less? Does this mean that the council is inefficient? The private sector has to turn in a profit the council only has to break even.

Or is it, like so many things administered by the County Council, they just haven't got the business skills behind them to cope. If they were in the private sector and really had to watch costs, they wouldn't last the course.

I do not believe these homes should be out of public control. I believe that the council officers and administrators should be asked questions as to their fitness for the jobs for which they are employed.

George Evans, Durham Drive, Rugeley.