Job of the week

I read somewhere at the weekend that the BluLabour twit Cameron has been wittering on about saving £800 million a year by advertising local government jobs online. They already are, Dave - wake up you dozy twonk. I've been having a bit of a browse on one of these sites - LG Jobs - and chosen one for the "Job of the Week".

I searched for jobs offering salaries above £40K - foolishly thinking there would only be a couple. There were 129!

The winner is by no means the biggest payer - far from it - but it does demonstrate the interfering nanny state very well along with it's delusions of grandeur and heightened self-worth.

So, without further ado I give you ....

Head of Integrated Young People's Service (13 - 19)

Location - Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
Salary - £46,107 - £48,807
Hours - 37 per week

Job Description:
Our aspirations are clear  we want every child and young person to have the best opportunities to learn and achieve, be as healthy as possible, be safe from harm and be able to enjoy growing up. We want Peterborough to be a city where every child and young person has high aspirations for themselves, their families and their community.

To meet this challenging agenda, Childrens Services in Peterborough are changing. As Head of the Integrated Young Peoples Service, you'll be at the forefront of this change. As a gifted and focussed manager, you'll have the confidence to organise and motivate a newly established service to deliver high quality outcomes for young people in Peterborough. [My emphasis]

What a load of bollocks. All sounds very plausible and laudable at first, doesn't it. But just think about what it is they are saying. If you are going to make sure that every child is as healthy as possible, as safe as possible and is enjoying growing up you are going to have to intrude into every nook and cranny of that child's life. What business is this of the local government of Peterborough?

They could help them learn and achieve by providing what they are supposed to provide - a quality education service.

They could help them stay healthy by providing clean, well maintained play areas which are not occupied by drug users and binge drinkers either shooting up or throwing up and leaving dirty needles, broken glass and pools of vomit all over the place - again, something which they are supposed to do.

They could help them stay safe by having police officers patrol the streets tackling crime and disorder rather than filling in forms - and by not releasing known paedophiles, psychopaths and junkies into their community. Again, something which we expect our local councils to do as a given.

They could help kids enjoy growing up by remembering what it was like when they were growing up and bearing in mind that the last thing most 13-19 year olds want is some interfering government busybody telling them what to do!

The money they are offering for this post could put a couple of officers on the beat, or 3 or 4 parkkeepers in the parks, or a very good teacher in the classroom (this is just the head of the service - what about all the other posts they will fill?)

It's another example of how the state has lost the plot - tackling symptoms rather than the real issues. It's a waste of money, will make no difference to the future happiness of kids in the Peterborough area and will bring even more intrusive interference into the lives of ordinary working mums and dads.