Can you name one area where things are working better than 13 years ago.

Scans for cancer treatment and cancer treatment in general. With each passing year more is learned and more people are saved.

|The ban on smoking in public places became law in England in 2007, Scotland and Wales brought it into law earlier I believe. I agree it is an improvement, but not down to the current administration.

Online shopping I suppose, but can that be down to government? More like market forces, same as improved broadband and mobile networks.

The only centralised service that has improved that I can think of is the gov.uk website where everything from taxing a car to checking Foreign Office advice on travel is in one place. Not sure when this started though.

Can't agree that banking has improved I thing it's got far worse than it's ever been. Local branches closing, staff in local branches don't know their products - recently had a query on an account only to be told they don't have such an account, told the chap yes you do I already have one. Eventually spoke to mgr who said same thing, gave her my a/c number and asked her to look it up and no apology just said she didn't know that they did such things - couldn't answer my query though. Regularly have to hang on phone for around 30 mins to get through to a bank and then get transferred to to other depts or told they will ring me back which often doesn't happen. Dreadful service from my 2 banks!

The Internet is better and faster - we can monitor our use of heating from the municipal plant and our use of electricity, by simple accessing the relevant home-page.

No need any longer to waste hours waiting for someone to come and read the meter either, it is "read" online.

Here all government depts. can likewise be contacted online, as can hospitals and the GPs.

All right, the railway online ticket booking is a right pain in the you-know-what, but reserving railway tickets always was.

1. Much faster internet. 13 years ago I only had 3.4mbps......now average 950mbps.

2. Click and collect.

3. The convenience of doing things on my mobile phone. I just got a renewal reminder by email for a relatives blue badge. I could fill out all the paperwork, take their photo and take photos of their I.D. etc and a press submit. Immediate confirmation of receipt by email. 13 years ago this would have involved physical forms, lots of bits of paper, and actual photos. It would then have to be posted.

4. Contact less payments, with an immediate confirmation to my phone.

Online shopping in various forms has made a great deal of difference for many people.

A degree of more understanding and acceptance of Mental health issues.
However this understanding has been accompanied by the most appalling cut backs - more than other sectors of the NHS - so that people can't get the help they would have done 13 years ago.

Galaxy

This is very specific to my field but we are better at identifying possible autism and other additional needs in children than we were 13 years ago. Unfortunately waiting lists for assessment and diagnosis have lengthened beyond recognition.

I’m quite shocked by this Galaxy! It was my area too before I left a couple years ago. This government savaged our excellent service and now families are waiting and waiting with no support as months and months pass buy and their children struggle educational and socially, getting left behind. Then a host of other problems arise of course, and I can’t tell you the number of young people left undiagnosed because of the huge staff cuts and cull of the most experienced and skilled clinicians plus downbanding of the rest of the staff which meant they had to give up some aspects of their specialist work because job titles changed after the service was designated to be NOT a specialist service. People being sent off to tier one or two community services who were/ are overwhelmed and unable to
hold the most complex cases. A bloody scandal. And I vote Tory! Never again.

Sustainable farming.

Pretty good detailed description of what's happening in child and adult general MH services 2507C0.
A huge concern is that there are not enough specialists being trained up right now for the next few years. Outcome of this all too predictable.

Billionaire's bank balances have improved for sure, but I can't get an NHS dentist nor can I have free podiatry like I used to have for my deformed feet cos I'm told the NHS doesn't do that anymore. Tories don't want an NHS, cos they don't want to pay the part of their taxes (when they pay them) that covers what they see as other people's treatment.

In terms of renewable energy under the last Labour gov't we bought solar panels & signed up to a scheme that meant we sell our excess electricity back to the national grid, its been fantastic, we get cheap electricity and a payment of a couple of hundred pounds each quarter guaranteed for 25yrs.

When Tories got in they stopped it and gave huge payments to big fuel companies instead.

To me that is the essence of the 2 parties, Tories favour big business whatever they say, Labour help ordinary people.

I can't wait to vote this current load of scheming shysters we call a gov't out.

Being able to do more and more things on line though it makes things more difficult in some ways is in many ways a great boon especially for me as I am getting, older, am chronically disabled and have to spend a lot of time in bed or at home.
All from my bed or home - I can bank, have access to unlimited shops, attend church, funerals, educational classes and see and talk to near and distant family. Information on anything is immediately available. I can have immediate access to treasures from institutions across the world. I think it has increased in the last thirteen years and especially following COVID many more talks and events are on zoom as well as in person. I love that I can talk to a GP on the phone since COVID. I do not always need to be seen and it is so much easier for me than going to the surgery. And when I do need to go there are fewer people and much less time to wait. In my Quaker Meeting we now have blended meetings both in person and on zoom, so elderly or sick people can still attend Meeting. Don't get me wrong. There are drawbacks but there are also great advantages in new technology

Salti

1. Much faster internet. 13 years ago I only had 3.4mbps......now average 950mbps.

2. Click and collect.

3. The convenience of doing things on my mobile phone. I just got a renewal reminder by email for a relatives blue badge. I could fill out all the paperwork, take their photo and take photos of their I.D. etc and a press submit. Immediate confirmation of receipt by email. 13 years ago this would have involved physical forms, lots of bits of paper, and actual photos. It would then have to be posted.

4. Contact less payments, with an immediate confirmation to my phone.

Yes, doing things online like renewals of passes, driving licenses, payment of tax, council tax and other bills.
Paying Road Tax is a particular bonus, no need for MOT certificates, Insurance certificates and traipsing along to the Post Office or sending it away. So simple now.

I like the confirmation of bank payments by text too, I can pick up any fraud or mistakes very quickly.

pen50

I have a better husband!

I like this! Was it down to a government scheme?!

No longer having to carry cash or cards for making payments. Phone in pocket and good to go! Also far more secure.

I can recall when I had to factor in time off work to go to a physical bank, queue up, and draw cash money. Mind you that was a lot more than 15 years ago. Now I can get cash out of any ATM. Things like online banking, Paypal and international money transfer have saved me a lot of problems. I dont have to write out cheques and post them off to pay my bills - it all gets done automatically by direct debit.

Sadly for me the answer is No

You could have asked that same question of any other country. Sweden? Terrible problems with gun crime etc in major cities. Same in Germany. France? Riots. Spain? Marches in cities eg Madrid there, too. Our press gives the impression that Britain is crumbling. But looking further afield, I see most European countries are faring no better.

It's a No from me. It's depressing particularly in terms of public services which are gradually being starved out of existence. Something else which isn't working as well as 13 years ago? My brain and my memory and I can't blame that on the government.

And another thing (small rant, here). Our NHS is crumbling. But has anyone else thought that our overweight population has anything to do with this? Type 2 diabetes, usually the result of diet, means that resources are used up treating something that can be dealt with by dietary and lifestyle changes. Many cancers are directly or indirectly related to diet and lifestyle choices, too, as are hip and knee problems. Skinny people also need knee and hip replacements but I don't personally know of any slender people my age who need those ops. My husband keeps chronic back pain (due to injury) at manageable levels by carefully watching his diet. He eats only fruit for lunch and has a small dinner.

CoolCoco

Food banks are better

Unfortunately, you are probably right and that there are far more of them too. But I have to say that it's not a better thing but instead it's more of a necessity these days.

Milliedog

And another thing (small rant, here). Our NHS is crumbling. But has anyone else thought that our overweight population has anything to do with this? Type 2 diabetes, usually the result of diet, means that resources are used up treating something that can be dealt with by dietary and lifestyle changes. Many cancers are directly or indirectly related to diet and lifestyle choices, too, as are hip and knee problems. Skinny people also need knee and hip replacements but I don't personally know of any slender people my age who need those ops. My husband keeps chronic back pain (due to injury) at manageable levels by carefully watching his diet. He eats only fruit for lunch and has a small dinner.

I tend to agree. Especially diabetes.

However, we're both slim, never gained since we married (apart from my pregnancies) we've both has TKR. Now you "know" someone.

We were told our TKR were result to hard work and wear?

In the last 13 years I have acquired 8 great grandchildren. Nothing could be better than that

Peoples attitude to common decency has worsened. The old "me, me, me" attitude is definitely the standard now. Chikdren allowed to run a muck on electric scooters because they can be bought in shops, noise from houses, inside of cars, mobile phone users, no one seems to talk quietly nowadays. Governments may have faults but we voters do to.

It doesnt matter because Putin is going to drown us all as be has taken a particular dislike to UK

Related to my work, Remote Evidence Links.
Being used a lot more in my area, quite simply it enables people to give evidence from a remote location so they aren't in the court building.
Generally used for more serious crimes and for those considered vulnerable however, more flexibility is now coming into play.
It's one aspect of the justice system that is moving forward I think.