Cuts to services but still rampant Government waste

[Happ Hazzard]

Why can't they bring sandwiches or pot noodles from home?

[anywebsite]

Why can't they bring sandwiches or pot noodles from home?

 

BBC Staff shouldn't be expected to pay for their own food out of their wages. Next you'll be saying MPs shouldn't buy their food on expenses.

[andyofborg]

Why can't they bring sandwiches or pot noodles from home?

 

cos gordon the gopher nicks them and eats them

[Vague_Boy]

...could save £120 Billion - enough to effectively wipe out the Uk's budget defecit

 

A year's worth of deficit maybe. What about the following year?

 

The difference between the national debt and our annual deficit is explained here [LINK]

[psynuk]

How about some other examples:

BBC - £30,000 - Spent on food for employees at Wimbledon in 2011 Works out at less than £10/day/person

Cardiff Council - £500,000 - Estimated cost to taxpayers for crisis at Danescourt Primary School due to suspension of four teachers/resulting investigations.

Cumbria Council - £3,500 - Spent on road signs deemed “unnecessary” deemed by who?

Department for Work and Pensions - £5000 - Amount claimed in benefits by woman who failed to tell DWP of £95,000 won in the gameshow Deal or no Deal How exactly is this the fault of Government?

Department for Work and Pensions - £100,000 - Paid to former DWP employee, claiming blindness and inability to work, who was found driving and working as builder Again, hardly DWP's fault. In fact, almost £250k in the list is from people committing benefit fraud

East Sussex Council - £57,750 - Paid to claimant who was injured by “defective equipment in bathroom” Maybe they should have fixed the equipment? But from the surrounding items, this is actually a complaint about East Sussex Council paying out H&S claims

 

That's enough for now. There's an awful lots of stuff in their list of savings which either the government has no control over, or provide a benefit to the country other than the immediate cost.

 

Are you implying that as some of the list is dubious in its 'waste' the rest should be ignored?

As it appears that way. I'm curious to know what you think of this particular instance;

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/taxpayers-spend-500m-to-send-top-1428063

 

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “Where staff cannot or choose not to take their children overseas, we contribute towards the costs of boarding schools in the UK for children up to the age of 18, provided officers meet specific eligibility criteria.

 

“In some countries we do not permit staff to take their children for security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available.”

 

in my view,someone takes a job working abroard then expects his employer to look after his children in the uk. This is in addition to his wage. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is wasteful. If these people don't want thier families to live abroad they should be faced with 2 options; quit and take england based job, pay for boarding/care yourself out of your wages.

 

sounds to me just like a subsidised pub, a moat cleaner and a flip of a house but hey ho lets just ignore all that cos we can find spin some examples which don't stand up to scrutiniy.

[dosxuk]

Why can't they bring sandwiches or pot noodles from home?

 

Where are they going to eat them / prepare them / store them? You're not allowed to eat in the back of an outside broadcast truck, and if you're up a crane for 6 hours at a time in the rain, you're going to want more than a sandwich to eat for dinner.

 

Secondly, many of the crew won't be coming from home, they'll be staying in hotels / bed & breakfasts for the duration of the event, up to three weeks for some.

 

Would you be happy eating pot noodles breakfast lunch and dinner for three weeks?

 

Are you implying that as some of the list is dubious in its 'waste' the rest should be ignored?

 

No. I'm just pointing out that while some of the list are outrageous wastes, there are several on there which nobody could have done anything about, or are on the list for no real reason (like the road signs which are "unnecessary" - who says they're unnecessary?). Most of the sources for the items are the tabloid press, who're not unknown for twisting stories to make them seem worse than they really are.

[Earthly]

 

£720,000 paid by HM Prison Service to professional actors for role play to help inmates.

 

 

Bill Roach and Michael Lavelle will do that for free.

[Anna B]

Where are they going to eat them / prepare them / store them? You're not allowed to eat in the back of an outside broadcast truck, and if you're up a crane for 6 hours at a time in the rain, you're going to want more than a sandwich to eat for dinner.

 

Secondly, many of the crew won't be coming from home, they'll be staying in hotels / bed & breakfasts for the duration of the event, up to three weeks for some.

 

Would you be happy eating pot noodles breakfast lunch and dinner for three weeks?

 

 

Look at it another way. Never mind why they can't pay for their own food, why does it take 3,000 people from the BBC to film a bit of tennis?

 

 

No. I'm just pointing out that while some of the list are outrageous wastes, there are several on there which nobody could have done anything about, or are on the list for no real reason (like the road signs which are "unnecessary" - who says they're unnecessary?). Most of the sources for the items are the tabloid press, who're not unknown for twisting stories to make them seem worse than they really are.

 

The source is the 'Big Bumper Book of Government waste' which is published annually, and contains stuff like this year after year.

[Longcol]

The source is the 'Big Bumper Book of Government waste' which is published annually, and contains stuff like this year after year.

 

And large sections of it appear to be largely contentious from a group who appear to think, for example, whiteboards for teachers are a luxury (except perhaps in private schools) and want to outsource shed loads more jobs (remind me who's been banging on about G4S and other private companies on another thread).

[retep]

Now you see it now you don't,

 

Cotswold Council wasted £19,000 hiring a motivational magician to boost staff morale.