Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

Hi

Things are starting to change, for the better in my view.

Sir Mark Sewill is gone.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53210773

Time for a huge change.

Unfortunately Boris and Dominick have messed it up by bullying, which was totally unnecessary

They have put the backs up.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

The first problem is in the name, most of them are not civil, and they certainly do not provide a service, most are just jumped up little Hitlers, including I am sad to say a cousin of mine who headed up several major departments over the years.
I had a run in with the CSA, they wanted money for a child who I and several others believed I had not fathered, the only way out was to pay £400 for a DNA test, if it proved I wasn't the father then I could claim the money back from the girl in question, since she was on benefits this would probably be at £1 a week!
The people in the jobcentre are no better, back in the day they were just obstructive, now or so I am reliably informed, they are not allwed to advise you on what benefit you are entitled to, you try and claim one and if you get knocked back you try and claim for another!
I have two memories of my involvment with the benefits system, the first was when I lost my job just after getting married, I went to sign on and there was this fat bloke sat behind this big glass screen, he thought he could speak to you like crap because of the glass. I intended on complaining about him but he would not give me his name, so when the supervisor came to see me she asked who I wanted to complain about so I replied, 'the big fat barsteward over there' she said she wasn't suprised he was being funny if I was calling him things like that so I told her I had asked for his name and he refused to give it! "you have to agree he is grossly fat, and probably of dubious fatherhood" I said, adding "and since he wouldn't give his name that's what I intend calling him". The second one was when I was on holiday, the owner of the guest house worked for the DWP and made money on the side by filling in claim forms for people 'correctly' so they got aomething. We were talking over a beer one night and he told me something interesting. He said that there was a trick to filling forms in and it was on the last page. the last page contained a declaration, worded something like this.
I (insert name) having read this form wish to claim this benefit and all information I have given is true to the best of my knowledge.
The trick was this, you crossed out bits and added bits before signing it so it went like this.
I (insert name) wish to claim the above benefit and any others to which I may be entitled, the information I have given is true to the best of my knowledge.
You then signed and dated the form, by adding the 'and any other benefits' bit it meant that whoever was processing your form had to actually look at it properly and if it did turn out you were entitled to something you were not aware of, they had to give it to you.
The bloke said that as well as the possibility of getting something extra, they were unlikely to mess you about as it gave the impression that you knew your way around the system.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

You should have invited them, assuming they were intent on proving you were the father, to arrange and pay for the DNA test!

Clever! I, too, would take great pleasure in getting one over certain people 'in authority'!

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

I did invite them to pay for the test, as far as they were concerned it was up to me to prove I wasn't the father, not for them to prove I was. It is the same with HMRC, if they accuse you of fiddling your taxes it's up to you to prove you are not, not for them to prove you are, it's all wrong, how the hell can you prove you didn't do something like that?
It's a nonsense, you cannot win, if they for example accuse you of earning £10K and not declaring it for tax, then how can you prove you didn't earn it, you can't.
A mate of mine had a laugh with them years ago, they accused him of tax evasion, thousands of pounds iirc, anyway he had been less than honest with his tax return, but not to the extent they said he had. He refused to cooperate with their investigation and in the end it went to court, where he admitted earning a small amount and not declaring it for tax purposes, HMRC were delighted at this admission in front of the judge, until he played his ace card, he had not declared the money as it was earned illegally!
This was in the days before the proceeds of crime act, so the police couldn't touch him, the money, he told the judge, had come from him pimping out a couple of prostitutes, which was illegal, so the money wasn't taxable.
This was all BS of course, he'd really earned it from doing a few 'foreigners' at weekends, but it got him off, all that happened was that for a few weeks afterwards wherever he went he had a police escort. lol

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?

Are you telling me that according to the law we are now 'guilty until proven innocent'?

I would have demanded that they take me to court.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

Bullying is precisely what is needed to get through the incredibly thick skin of senior civil servants and send a clear message that not one of anyone in the cs is safe anymore.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

I considered that but having had a mental breakdown, gone bankrupt and feeling suicidal, I didn't fancy their alternative to making a payment arrangement. Basically if you don't cough up they send the heavy mob around to empty your house, plus I believe they can have your driving license and passport suspended!

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

I get the impression that senior civil servants see themselves as the only people qualified to make decisions regarding the running of the country.

They probably see MPs as only representatives of the people who are there to advise them of public opinion, but apart from that are of no real consequence!

This is exactly how they were portrayed in that excellent TV series 'Yes Minister'.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

Hi

Pissing off those working hard on the frontline is not the way to go.

We need them onside.

Re: The Problem with the Civil Service.

We NEED them to do as they're effin' TOLD.