IT APPEARS to me that CaRT are playing a bit ‘fast & loose' with the maintenance figures that keep being rolled out whenever questioned on the subject, writes Orph Mable. The only consistent FACT that I see is that the backlog continues to grow.
I am gobsmacked to hear that this Trust (now there is a title to consider) is unable to provide an estimate of the costs to clear the backlog. Not to know the scale of the problem in some detail would give an impression of rank bad management or is CaRT just burying its head in the sand and hoping that a magic fairy will come along and clear away the issue? I have not seen anywhere, any sort of plan or strategy to address the problem. Surely there is an idea?
Today's price will cost more tomorrow
I would like to remind CaRT that history tells us that, where maintenance of infrastructure is concerned, a problem quantified at today's prices will cost more tomorrow. So any estimate given for repairs, if not carried out when costed, will cost more tomorrow.
What this means is that any problem not fixed when first addressed will increase in costs both from normal inflation and further deterioration. Thus the scale of the backlog will continue to increase even if not added to (as it is currently) year on year.
C'mon CaRT give us some detail of how we are going to get out of this ever spiralling backlog.