Reimagining public services

Going out to wild parks and libraries is important to me. I do not like Parks being taken over by music events. We need our green spaces in London. I do not like them being managed and manicured too much. 

In London we have great public transport and access to it via the freedom pass. This is very important to me. 
It would be great if the buses could be speeded up and a review and extension of bus lanes would help as well as reducing space for car journeys. 

We are lucky to have many good or great public services in London, with so many good people working in them. I would mention especially our NHS hospitals and GP surgeries, the London Ambulance Service, the London Fire Brigade and our tube, bus etc services at TFL. I also appreciate our many beautiful libraries, parks and green spaces. 

It is also true that many services have been reduced or are now gone. There used to be hundreds of centres of various kinds in London eg youth clubs, day centres for the elderly, for people with disabilities of various kinds, mental health centres, children’s centres etc. The cuts which followed the bankers’ crash of 2008 swept them away, as councils struggled to maintain their statutory services. Charities have tried to fill some gaps, but they have never returned to where they were before. There are private options, for those with spare money.

It was Clement Atlee who said: Charity is a cold grey loveless thing. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim. 

We all need good public services. Without them we cannot have a strong, healthy, cohesive society. If we become weaker, more unhealthy and more fragmented, then people will look at today’s increase in “defence” spending and rightly ask - who or what are we defending? 

Love London, love our public services ❤️

Despite the apparent best efforts of Bromley Council, the roads continue to be a problem. I am 81 and I can remember when utility companies would send out a team to resolve any issues. The team would consist of individuals to trace the problem, others to prepare the ground for any work required, the work to be carried out and the surrounding area repaired and placed back into a reasonable condition. This meant that the problem could be solved immediately or, at the very least, quickly. These days, there are so many separate and unconnected parties involved, with differing priorities, so that repairs can take days or longer to put right which is unnecessary and time consuming for all involved particularly local residents.

Joined up thinking would be a considerable advantage all round and, more importantly, cost saving!

Repairing pot holes is a farce.  They only do one at a time even if there is another right next to it. A more holistic approach needs to be taken.  This would save money as there wouldn't be so many call outs.  The more call outs the more money it must cost.  Do as much as possible in one visit.

Teach all providers of public service at all levels from directors to those who engage with us to have (and show by their demeanour) respect for us.   For instance, always address us as sir or madam.   I'm not your mate.

Roads! The biggest problem I face. Grim expanding of road works delaying traffic. Bridge repairs taking forever. No one working. 
Blue badge parking-insufficient supply in central London. 
Cyclists-often reckless. Hire bikes dumped. Pavements difficult to navigate. No policing of cyclists. Surely someone -TfL? Should take responsibility? TfL seem unaccountable. 

I’m under care with three hospital groups and a GP practice. Each uses a different app or web interface. None relates to the others in terms of look-and-feel or information sharing. 

The Freedom Pass is an essential help & support to my retirement. It enables me to contact friends & family to maintain social connections. It makes living in London a more civilised experience.

I greatly appreciate my Freedom Pass but it's unfortunate that the tube is not user friendly and only partly accessible. I couldn't get back from hospital yesterday as St Pauls had no escalator to get down. My 2 nearest tubes have 2 flights or more of steps. Elizabeth Line is good but it's a very very long walk to platforms. I can't safely use bus or tube without a seat and not many people take any notice of disabled seats.  In over 150 years no-one has been able to do anything about it and too many stations are completely inaccessible.