Yesterday we noted how Renfrewshire Council was spending £100,000 on desks. Today we learn that the government has been spending £57,000+ on ministerial red boxes in the past 5 years. A series of questions and freedom of information requests from Lib Dem MP John Hemming showed that the Department for Communities and Local Government topped the list, spending £7,420 for only 8 ministerial red boxes, almost £1,000 a box.
It’s important to note that these boxes are built to withstand most accidents owing to the confidential nature of ministerial papers, that’s completely understandable. Yet the prices of these boxes ranged from £385 to £750 per box and indicating by the following breakdowns, it seems like most departments went for the most expensive option:
Transport - £8,853
Work and Pensions - £6,588
Defra - £1,500
Communities and Local Government - £7,420
Scotland - £1,620
Culture Media Sport - £1,598
DTI - £13,337.50
Innovation - none
Foreign Office - £6,990
Wales - none
Treasury - £1,899
Defence - £6,108
International Dev - £1,346.55
This is yet again another example of waste we have to watch, highlight and campaign on. By a simple freedom of information request you can find out where your money is being spent and how much they're wasting. To make it easy for our supporters and activists to hold politicians and government to account we have a template freedom of information letter. Email me at [email protected] requesting the letter and I will send it to you. All you need to do is fill in the blanks and send it off to any public body. What is essential, however, is that the more we bring these instances of waste and mismanagement the public’s attention, the more politicians will think before they waste our money.