A brush with the Beeb.

Yesterday’s strike of public sector workers did not seem to affect the County Council yesterday.  All activities, including the Junior Road Safety Officer awards ceremony went on without interruption as far as I could tell.  According to the Local Government Association some 95% of local government staff reported for work across the UK, and that seems to have been our experience,

Schools were a somewhat different matter, although in the event only a small number closed completely, with rather more partially closed.  The vast majority stayed open for business however.  Visits to local schools have shown me the dedication of all of our local heads, and many of their staff, and I am sure that this is replicated across much of the County.

In the morning I was asked to speak on Radio Suffolk about how prepared we were for the industrial action.  At that stage, although I had every confidence in our staff, I knew that only a relatively small proportion are members of the relevant unions. Therefore I did not actually know how many would turn up for work.  I was reasonably confident however in saying that management would rise to any challenge and that services should be unaffected.

I do not mind getting up at the crack of dawn to talk to Radio Suffolk, provided I know what I am talking about.  However, I was irritated on this occasion when the presenter stated during the interview that the council had not given them a list of schools that were likely to close.   We have an agreed protocol with BBC Radio Suffolk with regard to how we communicate this sort of information and in fact the list had been sent to them in the normal way the day before.  

 It seems that all presenters cannot resist an opportunity to imitate the great interviewers such as Paxman and Humphreys and try to catch politicians out, even when they themselves are on shaky ground.

An apology was forthcoming after the event…..but only by e mail!