Organizational genius

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The last time I "signed on" as an officially unemployed person, the British benefit system was organized, so far as I can remember, along sane lines: local offices received the requests, evaluated them, and got back to the applicant with an acceptance or a motivated refusal.

It seems that since then, the organizing genius of the age of the Tory Blur and Burden Grown has had its way with the ministry.

Some genius seems to have decided that it was a wise thing to send all the decision-making to a centralized office in Belfast, so that jobsworths from Ireland can decide whether an application made in Sussex, Cornwall or Cumbria is credible. Centralization has also, apparently, allowed the morons to sack all the more experienced and competent officers, so that at present many employees of the Unemployment Office (cheerfully rebranded Jobcentre Plus) seem to come from the dregs of the school system, when they are not first-generation immigrants.

Apart from the stench of corruption and worse (why Belfast, except that the case for government jobs in that city is made by other methods than votes?), this is organizationally insane. In my case, it has resulted in my claim being blocked for three weeks (so far) because Belfast had never received documents, including my ID, that I had presented at my first interview and again when asked. Meanwhile, I am sinking into debt AGAIN and in danger of losing my internet connection, after which, even if I wanted, I could no longer work.

Multiply this expensive and corrupt inefficiency over several ministries and dozens of government agencies, spread it the length and breadth of the land, and you will have a vague idea why slow hanging with piano wire is entirely too little for the politician mob that has afflicted this country for so long. They think the public is mad at them because they pilfered small amounts of public money for their private pleasures. Don't delude yourselves, rabble: that is the least of it.

Comments

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To be frank, other parts of the United Kingdom do not have semtex as part of their negotiating package. I do not mean that quite the way it sounds, but no doubt it is very easy for NI politicians to convince their colleagues in London that extra helpings of jobs will help reduce social tensions and hence the drift to terrorism. I think there are a lot of things wrong with this reasoning, but this kind of jobs are always handed over for political reasons. (Does anyone seriously believe that Deven is less suited than Scotland to host a Trident submarine base?)

My current problems have been temporarily solved by the Italian secret weapon - my family's help. Anyway, the situation is not as catastrophic as it seemed last winter - it is more a matter of petty dragging on and incompetence. I have been in worse places. It is the waste of public money for no good reason that makes me angry.

[stigandnasty919.livejournal.com]

In the past and to a degree at present, Northern Ireland had a different problem. Because it was impossible to join one of the political parties which could win a general election - Labour actively barred anyone living in Northern Ireland from being a member - our influence regarding getting government jobs was much less than in other areas.

You are right that these jobs are all granted for political reasons. So I'd ask again, if centralisation has to happen, why not Belfast. Any other decision would be equally as suspect.

The key question is why centralise? It never seems to actually work and always gets reversed a few years later, after anyone who knew what they were doing has left the customer facing offices. A stupid cycle that breeds inefficiency and only serves to keep consultants in a job.