"Lambeth Council plans to be a cooperative"

As reported by the BBC and others, Lambeth Council has plans to expand programs where residents gain council tax rebates in exchange for helping to organize council services.

Sounds fun at first, but would council services run by amateurs and part-timers really be an improvement?  As the concrete examples of the cooperatives idea given have to do with running housing estates, the implication is that those who don't live on an estate pick up a greater part of the tab for council-wide services. 

Also mentioned is a plan floated by Barnet Council to privatise its planning service.  Sounds a bit pie-in-the-sky, but imagine a planning service where someone actually picks up the phone or keeps an appointment.  Or could be fired for being useless.