For anyone in any doubt about the grotesque squandering of our money, have a watch of ”How They Squander Our Billions” on 4OD (if you’re in the UK)
More links - and you might want to read the Taxpayers Alliance blog as well as Burning Our Money.
I’m just going to paste in some observations from someone on the Burning Our Money blog who was watching it last night (hope they don’t mind)
nhs computer system: £13 billion.
may rise to £20 BILLION…
Bowman radio system. found to be too heavy for Landrovers. speed down to 40mph.
cost: £2.4 billion
Eight Chinooks: £422 million. still not in the air.
Eurofighter: £20 BILLION
£3 million on oak doors on MOD building
30 big plasma tvs for the MOD building
£250,000 on eight paintings for MOD building.
3,000 Herman Miller office chairs – “the most comfortable office chairs in the world”
£50 million in bonuses for MOD chiefs in the past year
TA concludes that gov wastes £101 billion a year.
£1 billion tax credits overpaid in the last year.
£830 million : benefit fraud
£4 million in benefit ends up being paid to prisoners who dont tell the gov that they are in prison.
£2.7 billion for lawyers – miners compensation scheme.
head of law firm ended up with private plan and millions in the bank.
millenium dome: £780 million
Earth Centre , doncaster: £60 million – now closed.
West Bromwich : “cultural centre” : £60 million
‘The Public’ is a icon for the public sector – a proper cluster f**
250k for pot plants in government offices.
Millenium dome – sold off for nothing to the private sector.
now the most successful concert venue in Europe.
“bossy” adverts: government is biggest spender on ads in the country
£188 million
up 25 per cent in the past 4 years.
road building:
A14 : £950 million up from £500 million
M1 widening: £600 million up from £300 million
on average a road project comes in at above 40 per cent of the initial estimate.
PFI
Frank Field: Birkenhead PFI is charged at 16.5 per cent interest per year for 20 years.
gov signed up 600 PFI schemes:
£63 billion
paying back: £240 billion , over 40 years.
Mandys office: £2,000 per month on flowers.
