Library lunacy

When someone heads to their local branch, they should expect to leave with a choice of their favourite books and CDs rather than an intrusive form containing questions about whether they have cancer, or their sexuality.

This example highlights everything that can go wrong with local government.

Rather than focusing on the services they were tasked with running, town halls have been snooping into people’s private lives.

The requirement on councils to carry out such lifestyle and diversity surveys has now been lifted by a Government that is, thankfully, committed to cutting red-tape. At a time of large funding cuts, these wasteful practices remind us that the key to good government is not having a big budget but concentrating on delivering quality local services.