…when the lunch is still free: Patients discharged from hospital could be given a breakdown of how much their treatment has cost the NHS. Because that will miraculously cause them to care, you see, and rethink their spendthrift ways… Hospital bosses are considering the move to raise awareness of how much various tests, procedures and visits cost, encouraging patients to “value” and “appreciate” the service. Those who are inclined to…
I saw this headline and had a brief moment of confusion. How on earth could the black economy make Victoria lose $620 million a year? Was all the money going abroad or interstate? I read on to find out and it wasn’t long before the answer was apparent. Victoria isn’t losing $620 million a year at all. A report by the Australia Institute think tank says cash-in-hand payments are stripping…
Their names are Claire, Billy, Amira, Sydnee, Trey. Regular east London kids, some of the many who came along to the Poplar Boys and Girls Youth Club in Tower Hamlets during two days in August to have their pictures taken, and to say what they thought child poverty in the UK was and how they felt about it. Yes, it’s the good old ‘Guardian’ carrying water for the fakecharities yet…
Certainly not for serving their constituents: Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Councillor Stephen Padmore, who has attended only two of the 33 meetings he was expected at from June 1 2011 to June 1 this year. And then there’s Cllr Madeliene Long… In the last six months of 2011, Cllr Long attended just three out of her 10 meetings, though she has upped her appearances this year.At last week’s meeting,…
The Mayor of London should take control of all the capital’s libraries in a move that would save millions and transform the service, the former head of Waterstones said today. I thought the current buzzword was ‘Localism’? Maybe he has a point, though: The duplication of administrationcosts £80million a year out of the £200million spent on the capital’s 380 libraries, he claimed.Mr Coates is working with the New York public…
A former deputy chief constable of Notts, who was expected to take the county’s police authority and Chief Constable Julia Hodson to an employment tribunal, has accepted a settlement. And just what was his beef? Howard Roberts claimed the authority did not renew his contract in December 2009 following pressure from Denis O’Connor, a former Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Notts. Interesting…. Details of the tribunal emerged during a…
That’s what they say, and they say it often enough for John Lewis to have made it a theme for their Christmas ads. I think there’s some truth in it too. Now obviously this doesn’t apply so much when it’s socks, jocks and chocs or when you’ve just ordered something off someone’s Amazon wish list, but when I’ve bought someone something that I know will be a hit but is…
Back at blogging for only a couple of days and already someone has destroyed another cognitive dissonance meter. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, [Permanent Secretary for Tax at HMRC] Dave Hartnett says that householders have a duty to ensure that other people do not evade paying their share of tax. Paying a builder or cleaner in cash, allowing them to evade VAT or income tax, will result in…
…and nearly went extinct, only to be saved by die-hard fans: An award-winning project in Burnley which aimed to get more children exercising and eating healthily has run out of cash. Oh dear, so sad, too bad…. Burnley Council’s BUFFALO (Burnley Food and Fitness Aimed at Lowering Obesity) scheme has now stopped running but the council has not given up hope of restarting it if funding can be secured.Council chiefs…
Croydon Council could have to spend up to £2.5 million installing digital aerials at 888 housing estates before the analogue to digital change-over next year, and is investigating investing up to £700,000 more to allow top of the range equipment like Sky+. I… I just…. Integrated Reception Systems (IRS) have been installed in 212 blocks across the borough, 4,180 flats, ahead of the switch-over but these do not have the…
Staff at some of Stoke-on-Trent’s largest companies could be offered alcohol advice sessions in the workplace as part of efforts to cut soaring numbers of problem drinkers. The plans will also see 20,000 handy guides distributed to people across the Potteries, which they can keep at home to measure how many alcohol units are in different drinks. GPs and nurses will help pass on the information. Oh, great! No wonder…
Council chiefs in Bath have called for food labelling to be tightened up after finding traces of nuts in chocolate sold in the area. OUTRAGE! All products should be labelled as su… Oh: All 35 chocolate products tested for Bath and North East Somerset Council contained the warning “may contain nuts”. And what’s wrong with that? I mean, are you seriously telling me that the council spent good money testing…
Click for linky The Treasury will publish full accounts for all Whitehall departments to give taxpayers an idea of what the public finances would look like if it was a company. The move will for the first time bring into one place the future liabilities of accrued pension liabilities for public sector workers and the future costs of schools and hospitals built using the private finance initiative. Not before time.…
Cherry Tree Nursery in Hob Moor is closing in August – putting 13 jobs at risk – because managers say it is “no longer financially viable”. Well, that’s sad, but it’s a recession, after all, and businesses go to the wall every day, so… Oh. The nursery was established eight years ago as part of Hob Moor Primary School and was unique in being a commercial venture but staffed by…
Barbara Ellen on the growing opposition to overseas aid: It has been unnerving, in recent days, to observe the scene being set by those who oppose overseas aid and who feel sneeringly confident of ultimate victory. Unnerving because you know it resonates with the public? Only Gordon Brown, in his bid for the IMF job, stood up for the world’s poor, practically begging countries to keep their G8 education pledges.…
Latest Comments