Another pointless survey packed with irrelevant questions

Perhaps we’re getting a bit past our sell by date.
We knew that a BLT was once regarded as an exotic snack, so we automatically assumed that an LGBT meant the same thing, but with gherkins.
How wrong can you be?
Apparently the initials stand for something quite different - the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - and Boston Borough Council has just announced the first-ever consultation with members of this community in conjunction with the county’s other district authorities.
Boston Borough Council is obsessed with surveys. This latest is the fourth in fewer than four weeks - we already have one for culture, another for community safety and in the latest borough bulletin a consultation on the budget.
The survey is anonymous, and respondents are assured that the information they provide will help identify any issues or needs surrounding service provision to the LGB&T community and be used to make a difference in local authority and police provision.
As a general rule, we regard surveys such as these as pointless, time-wasting wastes of money - and this one broadly confirms our belief.
Although we can recall little by way of crimes directed against the bacon, lettuce and ... whoops, sorry, the lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender community, it is important that its members feel as at home in Boston as anyone else.
But whether you voted in the last local and general elections, and if not, why not, seems to be a case of asking questions for their own sake.
Similarly, many of us have doubtless experienced symptoms such as stress, sleeplessness and depression regardless of our sexuality.
And we cannot for the life of us see the point of the question: “Have you disclosed to your local public service provider that you are LGBT (e.g. district council)? If no, please can you explain why?”
No one would dream of asking that question if the word “heterosexual ” was substituted for “LGBT” because there wouldn’t be any point
Similarly, what’s the point of asking about smoking and drinking habits and concerns, internet usage, faith or religion, and how efficient the council is at litter picking , refuse collection.
The survey runs to fifty questions - many of them totally irrelevant.
We have to ask whether - in these straitened times - the council can justify the cost of such a worthless questionnaire.
It is simply busy work - work for its own sake - that has neither point nor purpose.
But it is politically correct, which we are sure makes it very important indeed.

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