Bureaucracy

[badger]

Highland Council seems to have become obsessed with form-filling. Not so long ago local councillors had their individual addresses shown on the .org but not any more. Now you get directed to the HC website and then to a form on whichever Councillor’s page. The form could be going anywhere so I suppose you just have to hope it finds the right person. If you know the format email address you can adapt it but if you don’t you’re stuck with the form.

When the Ward Forums started we were given an email address for questions. Now, guess what - there’s a form on the website. Again you have to hope it finishes up at the right forum. I’ve just sent a question and got a reference number back which I’m told to keep carefully (believe me I am, very carefully - what will they do to me if I lose it?):
00001023-0111-00000001-0001.
Had to copy it as can’t count that many zeros. How many questions are they expecting for heaven’s sake?

Until recently if you wanted to contact a Scottish Minister you had to write to scottish.ministers @ scotland.gsi.gov.uk and hope it found its way to the right Minister (in my experience it didn’t). At least they have seen sense and now they all have their individual addresses on the govt. website. Council please note.

While I’m on the subject, if you need to contact certain departments on our beloved .org you now have to fill in a form and copy one of those funny codes – letters and numbers in colour – before submitting. I’ve just looked up a postcode on the Royal Mail site, something I do frequently, and guess what, now they also demand a copied code before they will look. It’s bad enough doing it on ebay but where will it all end?

[Bill Fernie]

I have now added a new contact page for Caithness councillors at http://www.caithness.org/community/h...lors/index.htm

I hope that helps. The page is located in the Political section of Community.

[badger]

Thanks Bill - I didn't trust those forms one bit. Much better having individual addresses.

[NickInTheNorth]

I have now added a new contact page for Caithness councillors at www.caithness.org/community/highland_councillors/index.htm

I hope that helps. The page is located in the Political section of Community.

Thanks for adding that page Bill - shame that the councils mail system sends a failure message when emails are sent to the addresses given!