Southampton City Council, in common with many others around the country, changed political colours last week. Shortly after the empty ballot boxes were locked away, a report in the Southern Daily Echo entitled 'What now for the red city?' contained a quote from Cllr Richard Williams, the new leader of... Read more...
Public sector workers are out on strike again today but in much smaller numbers. The unions taking part today are the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest civil service trade union; Unite, representing NHS workers, Ministry of Defence firefighters and others; the University and College Union; the Immigration... Read more...
Cornwall Council’s recycling collection incompetence, reported recently here, continues to cause distress to local taxpayers. Not only are residents being baffled by a complex array of colour coded bags and boxes, which change from area to area, but the contracted refuse collectors are not even removing the recycled rubbish on... Read more...
Horsham District Council is on the look-out for a Business Transformation Manager. The salary on offer is £60K per annum for a two-year fixed term contract. Here's part of the advert under the title, meeting the challenge of change:We are a successful, efficient and ambitious council and we want to... Read more...
No sooner had the votes been counted and the lights turned off at City Hall, Hull City Council leader, Cllr Steve Brady made an announcement on BBC Radio Humberside. He announced a reorganisation of management, with immediate effect, and stated the council had gone into a 30-day consultation with senior management... Read more...
In the latest of a series of releases on quango credit card spending, as part of our campaign for more transparency and accountability, the TaxPayers’ Alliance today reveals new information about corporate credit card spending by Arts Council England staff during the 2010-11 financial year. Although the Arts Council England... Read more...
Many would consider an iPad a luxury, non-essential item but this week it was revealed that all 650 MPs could soon be getting one, paid for by taxpayers. This was the recommendation of the Commons Administration Committee chaired by John Bercow, the Commons Speaker who called for the “rapid roll-out... Read more...
I was talking to a supporter on the phone this morning and during the conversation he mentioned that the one thing the government will never admit to is that they spend £x billion on bureaucracy. And there lies the problem. We see questionable jobs advertised every day, yet finding out... Read more...
Lucrative pay-outs followed by new contracts of employment are not uncommon in the public sector. However at a time when essential savings must be found, it is even more important that the so-called public sector merry-go-round grinds to a halt. Only last week we exposed the record number of council... Read more...
It is six months since the Welsh Assembly introduced a 5p tax on each plastic bag given to customers in shops—and not everyone is happy with it. Plus, there are plans afoot to expand it to the whole of the UK. The TPA is organising a protest petition against the... Read more...
TPA supporters braved the wind and rain in Grantham on Saturday to campaign for lower fuel taxes. We were protesting against George Osborne's proposed 3p per litre increase in Fuel Duty, scheduled for August, and collected signatures on our petition calling on him scrap those plans and commit to further... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) will be holding an action day in Grantham on Saturday 28 April to oppose the planned 3p per litre increase in Fuel Duty announced in the Budget. Motorists in Britain pay the highest Fuel Duty in Europe and also pay Vehicle Excise Duty and VAT on top of that. TPA research revealed that... Read more...
Within hours of the 2012 edition of our Town Hall Rich List being published, its findings were being raised with David Cameron on the floor of the House of Commons at Prime Minister’s Questions. Burton MP Andrew Griffiths echoed our concerns about the exorbitant salaries enjoyed by many top executives... Read more...
It was a day of protest in Westminster yesterday. Those opposing the co-called 'Pasty Tax' converged on Downing Street to let David Cameron and George Osborne know what they think of plans to introduce VAT on savouries served above ambient temperature. A petition with 306,773 signatures (including my name) organised... Read more...
Chichester District Council Leader honoured for fully funding pension liabilities, unlike any other local authority in Britain Essex County Council Leader slammed for his attack on Freedom of Information Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance announces April’s recipients of its monthly awards to celebrate those in power who have sought to do... Read more...
Ribble Valley Borough Council is looking for someone to act as a temporary Healthy Lifestyles Referral Officer. The current incumbent is about to go on maternity leave. I had no idea such a post existed, and a thank you goes to an eagle-eyed supporter who spotted it. If you know... Read more...
My third subject is council tax. Most councils in the country took the money on offer from central government in order to freeze it for another year. Canterbury did so, also Shepway and Ashford. Disappointingly, Dover did not. Their council tax has increased 3.45% They announced this as “a small... Read more...
Yesterday was clearly a day for publishing data on public sector pay. Not only did we release our Town Hall Rich List – the ultimate survey of all those in local government receiving in excess of £100,000 – the Department for Education also released details of headteachers in publicly-funded schools... Read more...
More council false economies put young people at risk in Exeter. Devon County Council (DCC) wants to turn off city lights to cut carbon emissions and save £280,000—but it’s going to cost them £1.7 million to implement. If that’s not bad enough, by turning off inner city lights, they’re endangering... Read more...
Today we released our sixth Town Hall Rich List – the most comprehensive survey of all council employees who receive more than £100,000 in a financial year. This year’s list covers the 2010-11 financial year but also lists 2009-10 figures for comparison. This year we documented a record number of... Read more...
3,097 council staff earning over £100k The only comprehensive guide to top pay at UK local councils, with detailed breakdowns for each council included A record 3,097 council staff earned over £100,000 in 2010-11 (up 13 per cent on 2009-10) The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) proudly presents the sixth Town Hall... Read more...
Richmond Borough Council in south-west London has spent more than £100,000 of taxpayers’ money employing accounting firm Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) — to help it work out strategies for saving money. Not all councillors supported the decision. ‘I had absolute confidence in our own officers to come up with ideas,’... Read more...
In the last few weeks I have updated you on the campaign against the introduction of VAT on static caravans. There has been times when I thought I was banging a solitary drum, as other than the local media, this issue seems to have taken a back seat to other... Read more...
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has criticised the £67 million subsidy given to pharmacists for Medicine Use Reviews (MURs), which many GPs regard as a waste of money.Click here to read the full report The reviews encourage pharmacists to spot any overlaps or interactions between medicines being taken by patients. They are... Read more...