Thank you

I usually do hit the nail on the head!

Had you spent more time reflecting on life by rowing on the Adur you would know what I mean!

You have hit the nail on the head. The staff have always been aware that this was a temporary arrnagement. They have every right to feel messed around but it was always clear they would remain with a contractor.

The term CEO is a legal definition which is why we use it. I know it is a bit irritating but there it is.

If the wardens were outhouse and then were taken in on a temporary basis, then surely expectations were made more than abundantly clear that they would later be working for a new contractor. Is this actually about management, because as you imply they don’t have much of a leg to stand on, and I am not now very sympathetic to their cause.

I wish Ealing would bite the bullet and rename these people Traffic Wardens. The word Enforcement has such negative associations. The acronym is just plain stupid. If they now have additional powers, then call them Street and Traffic Wardens – because warding, if there were such a verb, is what they do.

What is it with you and facts? I said Apcoa pulled out at the end of 2008 so the staff will have endured two changes in 18 months. This is not good for them but it is not by design (at least not the Council’s). Apcoa pulled out of their contract with little notice and did not give us the opportunity to run a competition to replace them. We were therefore forced to bring the service in house temporarily. We would rather not have done so but it would have been bad news for everyone if we had just bundled the staff out of the door again without a proper procurement process.