It's Your Money, Why Are You Not Seeing Any Of It? By Anonymous

Regeneration, Community Development, all those 'community' workers that litter the city, preaching change and empowerment for the people of the city. Ever wondered where they have come from, how they are paid, and what the funding they get to play with is spent on? Funding, wherever it comes from be it Government or the Lottery for example, it supposed to reach 'the people'. Some does - not all of it is frittered away on high wages and pointless projects that barely pay lip service to the real needs of truly deprived people.

The amount that actually reaches the people after running costs, administration costs, the buffet to feed the fat-waged workers who need to have a meeting to decide what colour T-shirt to wear, is negligible. And the people it does reach are often a select few, the same few at that. After all, you have not engaged with 100 people as the evidence to the funder may state, if it was in reality just 10 people who did a 10 week course. Now how this all works in other parts of the country I can't say, but in Hull I can speak from many years of experience.

Firstly, many organisations that are funded to work with 'the community' don't have much to do with the people of Hull. In fact, many have an aversion to actually coming into contact with 'real' people.

The unwashed masses are not what they do the job for. Just attending round after round of pointless meetings, where nothing ever gets decided, except that they need to have another meeting. Dozens of highly paid workers, all usual suspects as the same faces appear time and time again, attending each others' meetings. Justifying to each other and themselves that they do a good job. That their attendance at this meeting or that is making a difference to the people of Hull. Meeting to have a meeting to decide when they should next have a meeting.

Little do they realise that the vast majority of the people of Hull are unaware of their existence, never mind the work they claim to do on behalf of these, to them, faceless hordes.

Ticking boxes is the game for many of them. Massaging the figures, making outrageous claims. A signing-in sheet and a few digital images of people supposedly engaging in community activities does not create change. Mutual back slapping does not justify the millions poured down the drain each year. 'Community' workshops, 'community' events, and 'community' meetings that no one attends. These come from the furtive minds of workers sitting behind computer screens in little offices dotted around the city.

Not from the needs of the people they serve. These workers rarely get off their arses and get among the people, so how would they ever know?

Now many will get on their high horse over this, stating the good work they have done over the years. Justifying it all with aforementioned over-inflated figures. The problem with Hull is that there is too many of them. Running around 'consulting' with the people. Have you ever been consulted? Even if you have, it's only part of a box ticking exercise. Soon we will find ourselves in a situation when there are more people involved in community work than there are people to serve. And as a project comes to an end, and the funding runs out, what is left? Very little is the answer.

A small minority will have had a good ride, some to be fair will have bettered their lot, and good for them. Perhaps they have been made to feel 'empowered' (whatever that means). Maybe they have even got a clutch of worthless certificates.

The thing is at the end of the day it comes down to value for money. Do the people of Hull feel they are getting value for money out of all this 'good' work? They sit as gatekeepers to millions of pounds. When the community ask where it is all being spent, they close ranks, clam up, suddenly remember another meeting they have to get to. My main question to you the people of Hull, is: What do you think? Have you benefited from the millions that have passed through this city? Do you care? After all it's your money, why are you not seeing any of it??

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