Wacky idea gives councils bad name

There was equal measure of resignation and annoyance in his voice. The reaction of someone who has seen it all before but still can't quite believe his eyes.

He had just received an email from the council's Corporate Parenting Manager.

It arrived at the same time as Sheffield City Council let us in on the bad news that their budget was off-target to the tune of several million pounds.

But all was not lost, we were assured. Services and jobs would not suffer. Instead, savings would be made elsewhere.

For instance managers would be told to shop around even more diligently to find the best value for money option.

I hope that is what happened over the clutch of mobile phones the council has got its hands on and which they are to hand out to teenagers and councillors.

For that is the reason behind the hint of exasperation mentioned above.

You see, the council has come up with a natty little idea for spending our money...er, no that's not it. It's a natty little idea to promote National Care Leavers Week, which will still spend some of your money, regardless.

As far as I can gather from the limited literature to come my way, this week is to support young people who are taking the bold and difficult step of leaving life in care to live by themselves.

That is a big step indeed. Many young people find themselves in care through no fault of their own but have to adjust to what can be a very alien environment.

All kinds of pressures and influences must be at large, with potentially catastrophic circumstances. So, it is only right that young people who have reached an age (and not necessarily a state of maturity) when the system dictates that they move on from a home or foster family, should have some help.

And even if this is through the tokenism of a week of awareness-growing events starting next Monday, it is an important initiative.

But you can't help but wonder about the suggestion for Lifeswap - trumpeted as 'Sheffield's first ever wacky mobile phone event to get Care Leavers and councillors communicating!'

What will happen is this: a group of teenagers will be paired up with a team of councillors. Each will take a series of photographs and post them on a web site, along with a 'tag' (which I take to mean a brief caption) showing what a day in their life entails.

But guess what! Those taking part will be given a mobile phone each by the town hall. I am not sure if the phones are handed back at the end of it.

No matter, it is a wacky idea indeed. In fact, it is the kind of idea which gives local councils a bad name.

Is this what we pay officers good money for? Is this why we elect councillors to oversee our lives and why we sit by soundlessly when they make unpopular (sometimes unpalatable) decisions?

The above-mentioned Corporate Parenting Manager clearly believes so. He tells councillors in his email that this is a ‘way of opening up communication between care leavers and yourselves as councillors’.

He goes on: “Young people and councillors will be given mobile phones with built-in digital cameras and asked to take a series of photographs with explanatory texts. The idea is that participants will end up with a better understanding of each other’s world; a day in their life.”

You couldn’t make it up? Strange as it may seem, someone actually did. And was paid a good bit of public money to do it!