The Public Accounts Committee has rightly criticised the shocking customer service at HMRC, accusing them of “failing UK taxpayers”. HMRC are increasingly struggling to pick up the phone, let alone prosecute those evading tax. Of course, much of HMRC’s work would be far more manageable if only we had a simpler... Read more...
In yet another example of shortcutting at the expense of taxpayers, a local news source in Kent revealed this month that Kent police have massively overpaid for a set of 1,600 body-worn video cameras, used by their officers to record their day-to-day activities on the beat. Each unit, a five megapixel full... Read more...
Today the National Audit Office has published its report into the government funding of Kids Company – though of course it was really taxpayer funding. Despite coming after months of concerning revelations, the report’s findings are nonetheless shocking. Despite concerns being raised as early as 2002, the failed charity received... Read more...
The TaxPayers' Alliance seeks the best value from every penny collected by the Treasury. It isn't just national government that needs to be sure to spend your money in the most prudent and efficient way possible, but regional and local government too. Wales has seen its budget soar since the... Read more...
Junior doctors' contracts are being discussed in the House of Commons today as part of the Opposition Day Debate. Here's what our Research Director, Alex Wild, had to say on Channel 4 News. Read more...
The DWP released figures for the Access to Work programme which is very similar in scope to the programme the TPA suggested in our report Work for the Dole. Thus far, 162,000 people have taken part in one of the three regimes on offer, which seems an encouraging start. 40,000... Read more...
This morning, HMRC have published their estimates of the UK's tax gap, and it turns out to be rather short of the ludicrous £120 billion figure which is cited all too often. The headline figure is that the tax gap is estimated to be £34 billion - 6.4% of total... Read more...
First Redcar and then Tata Steel announced further job cuts in the steel industry. Exactly what is going on and is there a case for the government to intervene using taxpayer cash to prop up the current price of steel or bail out the suffering plants to protect British jobs?... Read more...
We often have people contacting us with stories of wasteful spending. We are always extremely grateful for the input and they contribute to research like the Bumper Book of Government Waste. We've been working on a tool to make that process easier - somewhere our supporters can go to log... Read more...
The Welsh Government’s ambitious plans to make Wales a ‘One Planet’ nation are in full swing. They have established numerous environmental schemes and advertised the non-job of the Century ‘Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’. The Welsh Government, which is seen more of a talking shop by most of the electorate,... Read more...
John McDonnell’s u-turn on the fiscal charter is worrying. The Shadow Chancellor may, one day, have control of the nation’s finances and taxpayers present and future deserve to know whether or not he will not rack up bills he cannot pay. Fighting this Bill is not going to inspire public... Read more...
Yesterday our Chief Executive, Jonathan Isaby, gave evidence to the Trade Union Bill Committee, making the point that taxpayers' money should not be going towards subsidising trade union activities. You can watch Jonathan's evidence here (from 3:45pm to 4:15pm) or read the transcript here. Read more...
Yesterday I made some comments at a fringe event for which I want to apologise. They were crass, offensive and made 'off the cuff' - I made a mistake and I want to say sorry for that.Not only did I let myself down, but the result has been that most... Read more...
In an intriguing article, Guardian columnist and National Trust chairman Sir Simon Jenkins says there is no housing crisis, implying it is all a figment of the media class’s imagination. It is intriguing because he states many unpopular truths yet simultaneously misses the point in a spectacular fashion in some... Read more...
This week saw the introduction of the country's first monthly bin collection. Fife council in Scotland will collect waste just 12 times a year as part of a trial in some parts of the district, in order - we are told - to encourage residents to recycle more. We obviously... Read more...
There has been a certain amount of noise recently suggesting that Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) divest from (sell so they are no longer part of the fund’s portfolio) fossil fuel and other supposedly “sinful” stocks. This Guardian article suggested that “millions of UK public sector pensions were ‘exposed to... Read more...
In a recent poll by Survation, respondents were asked to list the first word or phrase that came to mind when seeing the words “European Union.” Only 21% wrote a response that could be considered positive while 39% wrote something negative - words such as bureaucracy, waste and money were... Read more...
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for failing to collect information about its land sales and failing to ensure value for money for the UK taxpayer. DCLG has been selling land back to the private sector but has not recorded how much this... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance was one of 140 media organisations, campaign groups and charities to sign a joint letter to the Prime Minister voicing concerns over the watering down of Freedom of Information laws. A wide range of groups, from BskyB to Guardian News & Media Limited, UNISON, and Liberty all... Read more...
What is the Chancellor up to in China at the moment? This morning George Osborne announced £3 million in funding for a scheme to “provide training for over 5,000 new football coaches, significantly increasing Chinese awareness of the thriving football sector in the UK”. That’s right, this “revolutionary grassroots football programme” will receive £3... Read more...
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Norman Lamb’s comments about the NHS today is that they have received coverage in the media. After all, politicians and other vested interests have been warning of the imminent collapse of the NHS and calling for more money to be spent for decades, regardless... Read more...
Thank you to everyone who came to our Activist Training Day in London yesterday. We ended up covering a wide range of types of activism, from how to write effective FOIs and running and planning an event we hope that everyone managed to find something that would suit them. We... Read more...
What are gilts? The sale of gilts (UK government bonds) is the primary way in which the UK government finances its deficits. When the government spends more than it raises in taxes and other smaller receipts, the money has to be borrowed. However this is not done in way a... Read more...
On Saturday the TaxPayers’ Alliance took to the streets of Tower Hamlets as part of our ongoing War on Waste. Armed with leaflets, placards, badges and fact books the TPA took the message of fiscal responsibility to an area that has had very significant financial difficulties in recent times. Some... Read more...