As I said in my last blog entry, I was due to contest a parking ticket that I was disputing, and which I expected to win.
My date with the adjudicator was last week. I came out of the hearing only half-smiling. The lawyer who was adjudicating concluded that he could not deem the issue of the ticket unlawful, but that he could write to the Council, strongly suggesting mitigating circumstances.
On the drive home (I had taken time away from my desk to attend the hearing), I reflected that this would mean more legal time being paid for and more ink being wasted on more reams of paper. Then more Council bureaucrats will spend more time in return, reading, thinking about, and typing yet another reply – about a non-issue.
This is madness. The whole process so far has taken nearly 6 months – and it’s not finished yet!
Apart from the time and money I’ve wasted on this, public funds have been frittered away on replying to my appeals and preparing all relevant documentation (there has been loads of it – amounting to several centimeters worth).
A system that was originally designed to help the people that needed help, has become bloated, outdated, and anachronistic. Worst of all, it now actively gets in the way of life – and squanders bucket-loads of cash.
The real slap in the face is that, at the same time, the Government is cutting many disability-related benefits. Real lives are being affected whilst bureaucrats continue wasting money on meaningless issues.
