...just not in English The above was found on the Freedom of Information page at North Lincolnshire Council's website. From their census in 2001, 2.5% of residents were from an ethnic minority, who this service is aimed at. Needless to say the Freedom of Information request is in the post... Read more...
The Guardian reports on threats of a teacher shortage: "Schools will face a shortage of maths and English teachers next year, new figures reveal. They show a dramatic drop in the number of teacher trainee applicants. The number of applicants to start postgraduate teacher training for primary and secondary schools... Read more...
The Audit Commission today released its performance evaluation of councils in the UK. They report that 83% of councils received a 3 or 4 (maximum) star status, a 3% increase from 2006. Surprisingly, no councils were in the lowest ranked category with 13 Councils achieving the 4 stars and ‘improving... Read more...
The cost of those PFI plug sockets Yesterday afternoon your correspondent attended the latest Public Accounts Committee session on PFI. On the table was the recent NAO report on how the public sector gets ripped off when it orders changes to long-term contracts (blogged here) On the griddle was John... Read more...
On Friday the Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, covering Stafford and Cannock’s main hospitals, was given ‘Foundation Trust’ status and already the executives in charge are looking to hike their pay up by as much as 154% (Express and Star). The Trust chair, Toni Brisby, who can work as... Read more...
Last week’s non-job of the week was a delightful course in hypocrisy – a green job with a car thrown in. This week Chorley Council provides us with another gem. Having just released our report in the growth of Town Hall middle management, we find yet more of your money... Read more...
The Telegraph reports on a leaked draft of a report that will call for significant cuts in police paperwork: "An official review by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the chief inspector of constabulary, says police have become ''slaves'' to rules and regulations and are ''strait-jacketed by process". His report was delivered to... Read more...
Just get them built As the NHS has illustrated so graphically, government spending binges rarely end well. Labour's NHS splurge pumped up a healthcare system unused to such a rich diet, and wholly unable to handle it. Costs escalated, low grade hospital staff were recruited en masse, and management overheads... Read more...
In a debate over anti-obesity policy at CentreRight.Com Peter Franklin argued that the problem of obesity cannot be ignored because of "the long-term consequences that will be visited upon the taxpayer for decades to come". Peter Cuthbertson responded that, although he also thought tackling obesity would be great, he didn't... Read more...
The trust thing is still heading South Hardly a day goes by without some fresh scandal from Parliament. The Conway case may have been particularly spectacular, but scores of "honourable" members clearly think tax-funded nepotism is perfectly OK. And as the Wintertons' Death Tax deal has shown, there are no... Read more...
Yesterday’s mandatory Business Consultation with the West Midlands Police Authority in Birmingham threw up some interesting questions about where our precept money is going. As the first to present his slides, Mike Williams, the Authority Treasurer was quick to point out what he referred to as a “spectacular” increase in... Read more...
It emerged today that the Healthcare Commission has found Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust guilty of serious breaches of the hygiene code. Following a series of (all too rare) 'unannounced' visits to the Trusts Hospitals, inspectors reported 'thick layers of dust on curtain rails around patients' beds’, revealing that a routine... Read more...
From today's FT: Mr Hammond argued on Monday night it made no economic sense to advocate cutting public spending when the economic cycle was in a downturn. “At any time, the proposal that we should cut back the growth in public spending more harshly than Margaret Thatcher did is pretty... Read more...
The Guardian are still allowing Jeremy Leggett space to lobby on behalf of his industry - those renewable companies making big profits on the back of the Renewables Obligation that pushes up energy prices. His new article is about peak oil. First, he accuses oil firms of profiteering because... Read more...
Today the Financial Times reports on the poor performance of the Renewables Obligation in encouraging wind farms: "The amount of new wind capacity added in 2007 was less than three-quarters of that built the year before." This is despite subsidies that make wind farms massively profitable: "Under the current regime,... Read more...
Here is something for our Kent supporters from Dr. Sean Gabb who has passed on this interesting opportunity from Kent. The "Kent on Sunday" newspaper has arranged a question and answer session with Gordon Brown. Apparently, Mr Brown has promised to answer any questions the people of Kent may... Read more...
The Healthcare Commission have today released a study (PDF) summarising some of the lessons they've learned from studying failing NHS Trusts. There are three broad themes that should be of interest to anyone trying to learn policy lessons from the study: 1) Management weaknesses "We have found that the... Read more...
You can never write enough letters as a TPA activist. Our goal is to make a majority of taxpayers in this country support lower taxes, so it’s up to you to help us focus local and national political debates on our issues. Letters to newspapers, be they on local or... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance today welcomed the decision by South Norfolk District Council to freeze its Council Tax for the coming year. This should hopefully set a precedent for future councils in Norfolk to follow South Norfolk’s lead and work to trim budgets, make efficiency savings and cut taxes. As... Read more...
A new video from the CATO Institute in Washington gives an excellent explanation of the Laffer Curve, which showed that, in certain circumstances, cuts in tax rates could increase tax revenue. You can watch the video here. Read more...
ConservativeHome's ongoing campaign to persuade the Conservative Party to abandon promises to match the Government's spending plans should be applauded. The Sun today has it absolutely right on the Tory position: "TORIES blame Gordon Brown for digging a £9bn “black hole” in public finances. Every family in Britain will have... Read more...
A West Midlands TaxPayers’ Alliance supporter sent over this report detailing just how high a proportion of tax drivers are paying at the petrol pump: Tax details should be on fuel receipts THE Freight Transport Association says that customers buying petrol or diesel should be told just how... Read more...
How many times have you been told by government to ‘go green’? You must walk to work, take public transport (especially on subsidised Venezuelan oil) and recycle. Such is the self-imposed need to lecture us taxpayers to go green that government has spawned yet another taxpayer-funded industry, this time in... Read more...
Average local authority employs nine times as many people on £50,000-plus packages as ten years ago, an increase three times larger than growth in the wider economy. Average local authority spends £4 million on employing people earning over £50,000. The total bill is almost £2 billion - almost £1 in... Read more...