So, as you might imagine, we were very interested to see the leaked Cabinet Office document last Friday, with a list of which bodies were going to be abolished, merged or were under threat. As we suggested scrapping a number of the bodies that were listed as ‘under threat’, we decided to write to the Departments responsible for a couple of them. First up, on Wednesday, we sent an open letter to the Department of Energy and Climate Change recommending that Chris Huhne scraps The Carbon Trust, which received £156 million last year. That huge amount of funding has meant massive pay for senior staff, and The Carbon Trust isn't covered by the Freedom of Information Act so we can't even find out how they spend our money. But what we do know is that this quango doesn't do much to achieve any concrete objective. If large businesses are able to save money by cutting their energy use then they will – if they need energy advice then taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill. We want you to add your voice in the call to abolish the Carbon Trust, and you can do so by e-mailingchris@chrishuhne.org.uk or writing to him at: Rt Hon Chris Huhne Rt Hon Theresa May Please share these letters with your friends through Facebook, Twitter, and email, and encourage other people to do the same. Together we can save taxpayers across the country millions of pounds. Yesterday the TPA submitted written evidence to the Department of Work and Pensions’ consultation on how to reform welfare. This follows on from our successful research paper Welfare reform in tough fiscal times, which was released in July. The paper definitely struck a chord at DWP – our proposal was included as an option for reform in the consultation document. It’s crucial that welfare is reformed but it doesn’t have to cost money now. You can read our submission in full here, and you can put your own comments to the Department online here - though today is the last opportunity to have your say. Please read and share this submission with friends and colleagues through Facebook, Twitter and email, and encourage others to help us make the case for a welfare system that will get people back to work and save taxpayers’ money. This week the Sunday Telegraph reported that health body NICE were considering paying smokers to quit and the obese to lose weight. There was also talk of buying children toys as a reward for eating fruit and vegetables. As you can imagine, we were appalled at these suggestions, particularly in light of the fact that NICE have also recently been denying life-prolonging drugs to cancer patients. Fiona McEvoy appeared on Sky News, ITN and BBC Breakfast expressing concern that taxpayers’ money could be used for a scheme that completely fails to consider the long term and shows little regard for the current pressures on the public purse. Tim Newark, our Grassroots Co-ordinator at Bath TPA, was also on the BBC this week as he appeared on the Politics Show South West debating public spending on the arts. You can see Tim’s appearance here. 'Spotlight on Spending' is a major BBC NI TV programme in advance of the forthcoming Government Spending Cuts, and they want the opinions and experiences of 100 people to be a key part of the hour long programme, which will also include politicians and a mix of expert and stakeholder opinion. The programme will be presented by Mark Carruthers and Declan Curry and will pre-record and broadcast on Tuesday 12th October 2010. Politicians say that Northern Ireland is facing the worse cuts in a generation and that they're likely to be amongst the hardest hit in the UK - the programme wants to reflect the concerns of the general public and explore some of the bigger economic arguments facing us. Are these the sort of issues that interest you - would you like to join the audience? Please contact email fiona.mcevoy@taxpayersalliance.com if you would be interested in attending. It seems the TPA and our campaigns have been attracting the attention of PR and Public Affairs experts. The magazine PR Week consulted some communications specialists on how the unions should tackle the campaign against spending cuts, and two out of the three named-checked the TaxPayers’ Alliance: It’s great to hear that we’re being credited as an critical player when it comes to the forthcoming cuts. Moving forward we’re determined to build our profile and our effectiveness as a voice for taxpayers and an advocate of real reform and real savings. Grassroots: The parking nightmare in Hull - Andrew Allison reports on the growning campaign against over-zealous traffic wardens Economics 101: Ireland's woes are due to the euro, not spending cuts - Have we been fooled into believing that the single currency affords smaller countries a free lunch of lower interest rates and single currencies? Grassroots: Bigger Arts Cuts - Tim Newark debates arts funding in Bath Economics 101: The opportunity cost of HS2 - Jennifer Dunn explores the impact HS2 funding will have on other transport projects Grassroots: Thameside Council spend thousands on an iPhone app - TPA Activist Liam Billington isn't impressed with Thameside Council's failed attempts to be innovative
TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 1st October 2010
Open Letter to scrap quangos
In our book How to cut public spending (and still win an election) TPA proposed cutting many of the Government’s quangos, making huge savings with immediate effect and also raising important questions about what the state does and what it should be doing in the future. These omnipresent bodies pervade nearly every aspect of society but taxpayers do not vote for their executives or their sky-high salaries, and their budgets have grown out of control over the last ten years. Our paper on quangos found that they cost taxpayers £90 billion in just one year – an eye-watering total.
Department of Energy and Climate Change
3 Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2AWThis morning we also sent a letter to Theresa May, who is Minister for Equalities as well as Home Secretary. We called for her to abolish the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Today the Equality Act 2010 comes into full force so it’s a good time to remind the Government this quango is ripe for the chop. Senior staff can earn up to £185,000 and when the body was formed it hired ex-staff from legacy organisations on expensive temporary contracts, which went against the rules. The National Audit Office have only recently signed off their accounts from two years ago. The EHRC forces businesses, schools, hospitals and every other organisation to jump through bureaucratic hoops to fulfil arbitrary policy preferences meaning staff cannot get on with their jobs and a whole new equalities industry will continues to grow. If you think this costly body should be scrapped e-mail Theresa May - mailto:%20mayt@parliament.uk - or write to her at:
Government Equalities Office
9th Floor, Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DUSubmission to welfare consultation
There’s encouraging news today as The Times reports (£) on government plans to scrap a number of benefits, replacing them with one "universal credit". What’s more, they’ve guaranteed that under the new system anyone in work will be better off than those on handouts, an important development. There’s still lots of work to do though, as the newspaper reports that the fate of child benefit – which makes up a substantial percentage of all benefit payments – still hangs in the balance.
Bribes for smokers and the obese
BBC Northern Ireland
TPA in PR Week
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http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/
Friday, 1 October 2010
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