LP's blog

Oliver Heald, the Shadow Constitutional Affairs Secretary, uncovered through a Parliamentary Question (PQ) that John Prescott has spent almost £650 on replacing a sign on his door from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) by one saying the Deputy Prime Minister's Office (DPMO). Mr Prescott no longer has thousands of staff working for him, but "only" 18 and a budget of £2m a year for his important duties. The DPMO counter-attack was that it cost them £140 to answer Mr Heald's PQ. It cannot be that bad to spend some money on the things they are supposed to do? Instead they are more willing to splash out on those all important signs and business cards.

The Independent writes that  carbon emissions from government departments have risen by 13% and the Treasury's CO2 rises by 130% in the last five years. Gordon Brown showing leadership on tackling climate change?

The Home Secretary announced yesterday that its ID card scheme will be linked to existing Whitehall databases. This is a complete U-turn from the plans the government has been pushing through for years to build a new clean system from scratch.

Also, there is a huge number of companies that are interested in bidding for the new ID database and that have prepared and spent money to take part in the procurement process. But now it appears that this has been done in vain and our data will be stored on 3 different and inaccurant computer systems.

The inquest into the death of Sgt Steven Roberts found that he was killed because of delays by the government to supply body armour to the troops. Shortage of such basic kit was already known before the Iraq war broke out but more was not procured as not the appear to support the US. A cowardly move to cover its plan to join the war at the expense of necessary equipment for its troops?   

National Audit Office's report has found that information on whether 12 out of the 14 Department for Education's key targets set by the PM and Chancellor will be met is likely to be unreliable. The monitoring of only 2 targets was approved. The report highlights the fact that the government's announcements regarding improved standard should be questioned, especially when they point out how they have met all their important targets.

It has emerged from a leaked proposal that the EU Commission is admitting its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would only delay aviation emissions three to six months by 2050.  ETS would only reduce the growth of airtravel by less than 3% over a 15-year period. This shows that quotas will not deliver necessary results in tackling climate change. Airlines will be making huge profits enabling them to buy as many carbon permits as they require. ETS only promotes "business as usual" with more profits to "dirty" industries.

According to the Telegraph, couples who pretend they are living apart to claim bigger benefit payments are costing the taxpayer more than £400m a year. It is estimated that up to 200,000 people were declaring themselves lone parents "fraudulently". This is the result of Gordon Brown's dysfunctional benefit system.  

The Department of Trade and Industry has released £50m over the next 18 months to support the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. It has chosen seven companies to receive its funding. There is an increasing number of companies that operate in the renewable energy field and that was clearly demonstrated by the fact that 53 companies expressed interest in the DTI grant.

A National Audit Office (NAO) report found that the public sector paid £2.8bn to external consultants and it is a rise of 33% over three years. According to the report, departments are spending huge sums with no major returns and Whitehall fails to look at their own staff to do the same job for almost half the cost.  

Home Office, the deprtment declared "not fit for purpose" is still struggling to make any improvements. Today's papers are reporting that the two terror suspects who went on the run in August are still at large. According to the National Audit Office (NAO) there is a lack of financial management and the accounts are still in a mess. The NAO found that the Home Office does not know exactly how many staff it employs and is £240m in the red. Sounds like a department fit to secure law and order....

Tony Blair outlined 500 measures to cut the £14bn cost of red tape to individuals, firms and charities yesterday. The aim is to save up to £2bn a year from measures which include simplifying forms for planning applications and rules covering fire certificates.

The MoD has faced an increased criticism over the last couple of weeks, the most prominent critic being Gen. Sir Michael Jackson. While the troops in the front line have to cope with poor equipment and little pay, the MoD has spent

• Over £71m in the year 2005-6 on consultancy fees; and
• £40m in 2006-7 (an increase of 60% from 2003-4) on Civil Servant bonuses.

David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, is expected to announce a proposal for carbon "credit cards" for every citizen. People would receive an annual allowance to use on food, travel and energy and it would be possible to buy or sell credit. This, as carbon quotas on businesses, will not be the solution to climate change. It will only enforce the current situation.    

The Guardian reports that 13 NHS trusts are "technically bankrupt with no chance of meeting a legal obligation to balance their books." The deficits are mainly caused by a financial regime known as Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB). RAB has caused deficits to escalate and for example, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich culmulative deficit by end of March is predicted to stand at over £65 million.

The Government is only now promising to look into the problems caused by RAB. It should have been clear from the first few years that the system is not working for trusts and should have changed it then and not now as some of the trusts are in deep deficits.

• The Chancellor has raised taxes by £6bn since the 2005 general election
• A family pays £200 per year more taxes

But 

• He promised £200 for every pupil in the PBR but only £20 is new money
• He promised £36bn for education in the PBR but only £100m is new money

The Chancellor has commissioned 39 indpendent reviews since 1997 and most of them have quickly disappeared without making any impact. At first it seemed a good idea to bring in outside expertise but increasingly such reviews only justify what the Chancellor has already decided to do. Labelling them as independent can easily be questioned as the support and advice comes from the civil service.   

Yesterday's Pre-Budget Report was another example of Gordon's nannying. Now mothers will receive child benefits even before their baby is born and more worryingly the Government will provide books to children up to the age of 11. The Chancellor should concentrate his efforts on improving the education instead of deciding what books children should be reading.  

According to the Guardian ministers are drafting plans for a compulsory carbon-trading quotas. The proposal would affect many businesses, including supermarkets, hotels and hospitals.

According to the Lib Dems, the Conservative's "may have started to talk green but are continuing to act dirty":

• David Cameron switched to a supposedly green hybrid Lexus GS, but it is so big that it is more polluting than the 10 best selling models in the UK.
• The Conservatives were silent or critical during the debate on the recent Finance Bill on fuel duty, vehicle excise duty, climate change levy, land fill tax and aggregates levy. Their year long tax commission did not come up with a single proposal for David Cameron on green taxes, stating that this was "beyond their remit".
  

The PM has defended the NHS reform and is convinced that it will lead to a better patient care. It comes as an IPPR report supports the closure of local A&E departments to be replaced by a network of specialist units. But a vast majority of public and practicioners are not convinced of the changes, which was demonstrated at the last week's rally. And the Guardian reports that ministers have accepted in private that they have failed to sell NHS reform effectively to the public.