Public sector borrowing increased from £14 billion in August last year to £15.9 billion this year. The deterioration in the August figures raises further questions about whether the Coalition’s austerity plans are sufficient to repair the public finances. In the 2011 Budget in March, the forecast for total borrowing in... Read more...
Another week, another example of wasteful spending on Government Procurement Cards (GPCs). This time, it’s the Health Protection Agency who have indulged at taxpayers’ expense. Their spending on GPCs cost taxpayers over £3 million in 2008-09 and 2009-10. At a time when families are cutting back on luxuries, the HPA... Read more...
The last Government's scheme aimed at merging fire control rooms crashed and burned last year, leaving the nine regional fire centres it created unable to stop £469 million of taxpayers’ money from being burnt in the process, according to a recent report. The six-year old plan began in 2004, was... Read more...
More councillors in the South-West have been uncovered as not paying their council tax on time. Six of West Somerset’s 28 district councillors had to be sent one or more reminders after failing to pay their council tax on time last year. Their arrears mounted to £1,947.70. If anyone is... Read more...
What is a Regional Reputation Manager? I'm not sure, however I know Calderdale Council employs one, thanks to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent by one of our supporters. The FOI also revealed the Marketing and Communications Team includes four graphic designers, a Campaigns Officer, a Marketing Officer, a... Read more...
A day after the Financial Times (FT) published its startling findings showing that the structural, permanent part of the deficit could be £12 billion higher than previously thought, markets have been shaken by the downgrade of Italy's government debt by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's from 'AA-' to 'A'.... Read more...
The new head of the Local Government Association (LGA) has been hired on a package worth nearly £200,000 a year. Carolyn Downs will replace outgoing interim Chief Executive John Ransford and enjoy a salary of £169,000 plus a generous pension amounting to almost £27,000 per year. Our Campaign Director, Emma... Read more...
In our weekly bulletin last Friday, I highlighted Rotherham Council's recent decisions to loan money to Rotherham College, Rotherham United Football Club, and a local businessman. I asked you to send me other examples around the country. The response was great. Here are some of them: Copeland Borough Council acted... Read more...
After the local elections in May, I wrote about Unison's countdown to power in Hull. Clearly they thought 'it was them what won it' as the picture below proudly demonstrates. The campaign they fought on behalf of Labour in the city could not have been as effective if it wasn't... Read more...
At the time I wrote Let them eat carbon, Solyndra was already struggling. Since then the American solar panel company cited by President Obama as "a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism" - and given a loan guarantee for half a billion dollars - has collapsed and is now being... Read more...
This Wednesday, I appeared on the Daily Politics presenting a soapbox piece about rising energy prices, and how climate change policies are making the problem much worse. That was followed up by a discussion in the studio with Grant Shapps MP and Tessa Jowell MP. There is an expanded version... Read more...
Freedom of Information (FOI) laws help expose wasteful spending. They have also helped to put pressure on public bodies to publish spending data. Organisations subject to the Act are obliged to respond to requests within 20 working days of receiving them. However, such laws continue to be ignored by a... Read more...
The BBC reported this week that Shropshire Council has cut the subsidy it gives to the UNISON trade union by almost £100K. The leader of the council, Keith Barrow said 'it was not right that money paid to Unison was used in political campaigns against the authority'. This is a... Read more...
Professor David Begg has attacked our report on the hidden costs of HS2 this morning. The point of that report is simple: the Government's plans for HS2 contain a series of unwelcome consequences like worse services for many towns and cities, higher fares and heavy congestion at Euston. They promise... Read more...
The 50p tax rate harms the poorest in society most. It can do so in two ways: their jobs may cease to exist or never be created; and because the poor end up paying a larger share of the total tax take. It is time for the Government to stand... Read more...
The case for High Speed Rail (HS2) continues to unravel today as we reveal the £28 billion hidden costs of the HS2 project. A report from the TPA shows how Ministers at the Department for Transport have made a series of pledges for HS2 to try and win public support, but... Read more...
At last, a local council thinks it’s better to cut highly paid council officers rather than frontline services! Bucking the trend of bleating councils who prefer to reduce our services before halting the taxpayer-funded gravy train, Wiltshire’s council leader is proposing to axe their chief executive. Faced with finding an... Read more...
At a time when Rotherham Council is cutting its budget and making some of its employees redundant, you wouldn't think it had any spare cash to splash, would you? Well, you'd be wrong, because the council who spent £2.9 million refurbishing its Town Hall (including £310,000 on chairs and coverings)... Read more...
Illegal subletting of social housing in Britain is much more common than originally thought—three times higher in fact. According to a new study, the fraudulent practice is costing taxpayers upwards of £2 billion a year - money that could be saved, or spent helping those truly in need.The fact that... Read more...
The recruitment company, Parkhouse Bell, is searching for part-time Interim Business Development Managers for 'a number of primes and subcontractors delivering variety of government services'. It seems the consultants bill is set to rise considerably, as those recruited will be rewarded with anything between £200-£600 per day! So much for... Read more...
In his Budget 2011 speech the Chancellor signalled his intention to look into the operation of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. HMRC and the Treasury launched a “Call for Evidence” which expires this Monday, 19th September. The consultation includes 14 questions which have been copied below. The first three... Read more...
The big energy companies have put their prices up - but not everyone realises they are also paying for the government's green initiatives as well. Matthew Sinclair, TaxPayers' Alliance director and author of Let Them Eat Carbon visits a former power station, to give his take on rising energy costs and... Read more...
As unions demand a mass movement against the spending cuts at the TUC conference, the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals the huge pay packets of union leaders.The Trade Union Rich List 2011 uses new data that has been published since the TPA's previous Trade Union Rich List. This relates to the financial... Read more...
The Sunday Times has called (£) for the 50p top rate of Income Tax to be abolished. The lead editorial means the paper joins the ever-growing consensus that the rate is a political gimmick doing lasting economic damage and has to go as part of a package of measures to... Read more...