Labour came to power last July with a promise to launch a war on waste. It’s no wonder in the final few months of the Conservative government, we found countless examples of frivolous spending, of which this blog lays out just a few. Unfortunately, things have not gotten any better under our new overlords. Either way, the TaxPayers' Alliance will remain on the front line, exposing these scandals and holding public bodies accountable.
As for the last days of the Conservative government, what did we find? Well, we saw the police overtime bill soar past £100 million, even as crime-solving rates plummet to historic lows. Our investigation, covered by the Telegraph, revealed that while taxpayers shell out millions for officers working overtime, there’s little to show for it in terms of results. From knife crime to burglaries, residents are left wondering why so few cases ever see justice. Policing is one of the fundamental services taxpayers expect, but instead of effective law enforcement, they’re footing the bill for inefficiency.
Meanwhile, senior civil servants in the Department of Business and Trade seem to be flying high… literally. In just three months, they racked up over £80,000 on business-class travel, including luxury long-haul flights to far-flung destinations. With the Labour government claiming it will cut costs, taxpayers will expect to see these extravagances come to an end. Surely, economy class would suffice?
Millions were spent under the guise of research. UKRI has consistently wasted vast amounts on virtue signalling and nonsense research projects. We have called out some of the whackiest. For example, the University of Derby received £80,000 to carry out research on Dracula. The goal of this research is to “contribute to the national conversation on equality, diversity and inclusion in horror.”
It didn’t stop there. Quango staff are taking more and more sick days every year. Our research, published in the Daily Mail, shows that days lost due to sick leave have increased from 2021/22, with 1,097,599 days to 1,206,341 in 2022/23. The rise in sick days taken is not just unique to quangos but the entire public sector. These organisations must draw a hard line against employees taking advantage of sick leave.
Even when their staff are at work, they still seem to be slacking off. Through freedom of information requests, the TPA has discovered that quangos are spending over £1 million of your money on support groups and events.TFL spent £120,000 organising 1400 events over the last four years for staff, including talks on “the future of e-scooters” and “how to increase women ridership in London”. These networking sessions do little more than pat people on the back.
From bloated overtime budgets to diversity grants and lavish travel expenses, these examples have one thing in common: poor decision-making and a lack of accountability. So let’s give Labour some credit for the moment - things were pretty bad under the last lot. Unfortunately, as my next blog will lay out, things aren’t about to get any better…
As always, the TaxPayers' Alliance will continue to shine a light on public sector waste. If you have examples you think deserve exposure, email me at [email protected].