Yesterday evening I appeared as part of a panel for the One Show responding to consumers' questions about high energy prices. With electricity and gas bills putting so much pressure on their finances, it is important that people are aware of just how much government climate regulations are already costing... Read more...
Lord Hanningfield and Lord Taylor of Warwick have both been released from prison, having each served only a quarter of their respective nine and twelve month sentences. It is deeply disappointing that they are out so soon and sends out the wrong message to the taxpayers they ripped off. Lord Hanningfield (pictured),... Read more...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a petition I have set up calling on Hull City Council to abolish on-street parking charges in the city centre on Sundays. Last week it was announced that on-street parking charges will be abolished on Sundays during November and December, however - even... Read more...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has spent tens of thousands of pounds on luxury staff perks using corporate credit cards, including bills at 5-star hotels and Michelin-starred fine-dining. The story on NICE spending in yesterday’s Sunday Express is the second in a series of findings following TaxPayers’... Read more...
Trade unions have announced further plans for widespread public sector strikes. Compounding the gloom of the passing of summer, commentators are now talking of an ‘Autumn of Discontent.’ Read more...
In 2007, The Argus asked whether taxpayers in Sussex were getting value for money from SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency. They returned to the topic last week, to coincide with the agency’s closure, and SEEDA’s apparent desire to make the most of it. Staff are being given pay-offs... Read more...
Each year motorists spend nearly £320 million on vehicle damage caused by potholes. This week one driver took his council to task for such damages to his car - and ultimately won. The victory left local authorities vulnerable to other motorists seeking damages.Hamilton Bland, a former BBC sports commentator, sued... Read more...
In chapter eight of Let them eat carbon I look at why major developing economies that emit far more greenhouse gases than Britain aren't going to follow our lead. And at politicians' farcical attempts to buy their support with our money. One example of that is the Clean Development Mechanism,... Read more...
Financial markets have recently lost much of the little faith they had in the Greek government’s ability to repay its debt. A bond promises to pay the bearer a fixed sum on a fixed date. One year bonds are those where the due date is one year on from now.... Read more...
If you have an Amazon Kindle reader - or otherwise read Kindle books on your computer, phone or tablet - you can now get hold of an electronic copy of Let them eat carbon. The digital version is available from Amazon here. If you would prefer a printed copy instead,... Read more...
The London Borough of Havering is still looking for a Programme Office Manager. It isn’t the first time that Havering has been under the microscope. The council has recently been searching for a Performance Improvement Officer. The vacancy for the former says that an “exciting opportunity has arisen to manage... Read more...
Twenty top economists have written to the Financial Times urging the Government to scrap the 50p rate of income tax to boost economic growth. The letter adds weight to the growing consensus that the 50p rate is economically damaging and that it will fail to raise much for the Treasury,... Read more...
Outrage in Swindon over £400,000 of local taxpayers’ money that has gone missing with little to show for it. Two years ago, Swindon Borough Council entered into a partnership with hi-tech company Digital City to provide wi-fi across the area. To date, most of Swindon still has no wi-fi coverage... Read more...
Back in April the TPA released a briefing note on Empty Property Rates. Since April, nearly all businesses have to pay full business rates on an empty commercial property just three months after it becomes vacant, and six months later for an industrial property.As reported in yesterday's Financial Times (£)... Read more...
One of the last politicians to be investigated in the expenses scandal, Margaret Moran, will be charged with fiddling her expenses by more than £60,000. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that the former MP for Luton South will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on the 19thSeptember 2011.Charges relate... Read more...
A cautionary, yet familiar, tale on how Coalition energy policies will affect homeowners was published this week in The Daily Telegraph. The article centres on a six-page document, entitled the “impact of our energy and climate policies on consumer energy bills,” and suggests that the Government’s move to increase alternative... Read more...
We’ve heard it all before. I wrote about it only last week. But once again, there’s news of another public body making the most of taxpayers' cash thanks to Government Procurement Cards (GPCs). The Government Offices for the Regions, which are being closed down, spent a total of £5 million... Read more...
A Sunday Times (£) survey has revealed that more than 100 of Britain’s most senior quangocrats now have pension pots worth more than £1 million. The investigation found many growing by up to £240,000 every year, with some increasing by more than the salaries they are paid. Read more...
After all the stories I have commented on in recent months about car parking charges, it is refreshing to hear about a council that has decided to make it cheaper for residents and visitors to park. From yesterday, North Lincolnshire Council has scrapped parking charges for the first two hours... Read more...
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: the Government must scrap its ludicrous and expensive High Speed Rail project. But it's not just us: a broad spectrum of others have joined our call, from the Green Party to the RAC Foundation. And this morning, The Economist newspaper joined... Read more...
Far from the rhetoric of "savage cuts" hyperbole being bandied about by commentators and politicians, in the real world staff numbers in the Department for Work and Pensions rocketed last year. A Freedom of Information request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed that staff numbers rose from 96,066 in 2009-10 to... Read more...
It has been revealed that English primary care trusts and strategic health authorities have spent more than £180 million on ‘media professionals’ over the last four years. There is non-stop debate about the future of the National Health Service and how it should be funded, yet I have heard no... Read more...
Park-and-Ride is the mantra for spending millions of taxpayers' money on transport schemes that are supposed to be good for the environment, but what if no one uses them? In Bristol, the Stoke Gifford car park near Bristol Parkway station has been open for three months, cost £1.3 million of... Read more...
There has been further controversy regarding Government Procurement Cards (GPCs) this week. They were used regularly at the Electoral Commission to buy food for the office staff, with days titled ‘fruity Fridays’ and ‘munchy Mondays’. Additionally, they spent almost £60 on pedometers for ‘walking Wednesday’, when workers were encouraged not... Read more...