The Guardian reports today that the recent nationalisation of the country's most expensive rail contract has exposed details of a £30bn funding gap in Britain's transport system.
The newspaper has had sight of a leaked industry memo that warns of "looming spending cuts" on major transport projects, raising fears that major schemes could be delayed, reduced or scrapped in an expenditure freeze.
The list of improvement schemes in the firing line include the £16bn Crossrail scheme linking Heathrow airport to Canary Wharf and Essex; a £6bn road building programme including the extension of the hard shoulder on Britain's motorways; a proposed new high-speed rail route and the rail fare cap of inflation plus 1%.
As a result of Treasury plans to bring public finances back into line over the next 10 years, the paper claims that the DfT is braced for a reduction in its capital expenditure plans that could total £28.9bn over the next decade.
Yet despite this looming funding crisis evident in this single government department - who knows how many others - the government still sends billions of pounds a year to the EU, the accuracy of whose accounts have been criticised by auditors for 14 years running.
At stake according to this article is public transport improvements totalling almost £30bn. When we consider that Britain hands the EU £10.2bn (gross) every single year, by just 2012 the EU instead will have swallowed up the funds needed to ensure these transport improvements stay on track. Unless our EU cheques are stopped now.
Handing such a vast amount of cash to the EU, rather than using it to stop our transport system crumbling, is completely unjustifiable given auditors have for 14 years running had considerable trouble explaining how the EU is spending that money.
Meanwhile reports abound of waste and fraud on a vast scale, even within the EU's own institutions.
The money for essential services is running out and it's time for some tough choices. The EU budget deal agreed in the pre-crisis days of late 2005 is no longer sustainable. If anything must be cut, spending on the EU should be top of the list.
The government must go to Brussels urgently, re-open the EU funding deal, secure drastic cuts and show us that it is serious about maintaining properly funded public services in this downturn.
Thursday 2 July 2009
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Schools get heavy on 'voluntary' contributions
In another example of how the vast amount of money Britain hands over to the EU towards its lavish costs - £115 million every single week on average - is depriving essential public services, a new report has revealed that schools are increasingly having to send heavy-handed demands to parents for 'voluntary' financial contributions.
Quote a parent who received such a letters, the Guardian reports: "It read like a letter from a debt-collector ... "Our accounts indicate you have not made a contribution," it stated. "Our records indicate you have not contacted us." In fact, it was a letter from a state primary school. And it was asking for "voluntary" contributions of £40 from parents to its annual fund".
"I recognise that you may feel unable to pay the full amount," the chair of governors went on. "We always invite parents to write to us to explain their circumstances and propose an alternative."
Another parent told Education Guardian that her child's state school in Buckinghamshire had rung her "several times" when she did not immediately pay its annual voluntary contribution.
A report by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on the cost of schooling last year found that three in 10 parents were asked to make voluntary contributions.
Secondary schools tended to ask for £44 a year, while primaries asked for £27. Nine per cent of the 1,500 parents surveyed said they were asked to contribute £100 or more to the annual school fund.
Clarissa Williams, president of the National Association of Headteachers and former headteacher of Tolworth Girls' school in Kingston-upon-Thames, says voluntary contributions enable schools to buy things without tapping into government funds.
"We used to run the school minibus, buy wheelie bins, and kit out the library with the money," she says.
All things which many of us understood were supplied out of the taxes we pay.
But in truth, huge amounts of that money is now being sent to the EU instead, since Tony Blair agreed from 2007 to increase our payments by 63%. This was despite the failure by auditors to give a clean bill of health to the EU's accounts for 14 years in a row.
Now schools are having to make up the shortfall.
Quote a parent who received such a letters, the Guardian reports: "It read like a letter from a debt-collector ... "Our accounts indicate you have not made a contribution," it stated. "Our records indicate you have not contacted us." In fact, it was a letter from a state primary school. And it was asking for "voluntary" contributions of £40 from parents to its annual fund".
"I recognise that you may feel unable to pay the full amount," the chair of governors went on. "We always invite parents to write to us to explain their circumstances and propose an alternative."
Another parent told Education Guardian that her child's state school in Buckinghamshire had rung her "several times" when she did not immediately pay its annual voluntary contribution.
A report by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on the cost of schooling last year found that three in 10 parents were asked to make voluntary contributions.
Secondary schools tended to ask for £44 a year, while primaries asked for £27. Nine per cent of the 1,500 parents surveyed said they were asked to contribute £100 or more to the annual school fund.
Clarissa Williams, president of the National Association of Headteachers and former headteacher of Tolworth Girls' school in Kingston-upon-Thames, says voluntary contributions enable schools to buy things without tapping into government funds.
"We used to run the school minibus, buy wheelie bins, and kit out the library with the money," she says.
All things which many of us understood were supplied out of the taxes we pay.
But in truth, huge amounts of that money is now being sent to the EU instead, since Tony Blair agreed from 2007 to increase our payments by 63%. This was despite the failure by auditors to give a clean bill of health to the EU's accounts for 14 years in a row.
Now schools are having to make up the shortfall.
Wednesday 10 June 2009
NHS 'faces huge budget shortfall'
The BBC reports today that the NHS is facing the most severe and sustained financial shortfall in its history after 2011, according to a report by health service managers.
The NHS Confederation report says the health service in England will not survive unchanged and conference attendees have been told that they face an "extremely challenging" financial outlook.
The report reveals that the NHS in England is facing a real-terms reduction of between £8bn and £10bn over the three years after 2011.
During the same period the government plans to hand the European Union £30.6 bn (gross) or £18bn (net), despite EU auditors criticising the accuracy of the EU's accounts now for 14 years in a row. These audit failures are accompanied by regular reports of waste and fraud involving very large sums.
The report says that the cost of new treatments and the ageing population are two of the factors causing the inflation in the health service.
According to the OHE, the £8-10bn at stake would cover the costs of family or mental health services for one year, 2 years of cancer treatment, normal births for 27 years or over one and a half years of prescription charges.
When is the government going to take seriously the major funding threats essential public services face, and cut this scandalous and unjustifiable waste of billions of pound on an organisation that cannot tell us with any certainty how that money is being spent, yet whose employees and bureaucrats and MEPs clearly live a lavish lifestyle?
The NHS Confederation report says the health service in England will not survive unchanged and conference attendees have been told that they face an "extremely challenging" financial outlook.
The report reveals that the NHS in England is facing a real-terms reduction of between £8bn and £10bn over the three years after 2011.
During the same period the government plans to hand the European Union £30.6 bn (gross) or £18bn (net), despite EU auditors criticising the accuracy of the EU's accounts now for 14 years in a row. These audit failures are accompanied by regular reports of waste and fraud involving very large sums.
The report says that the cost of new treatments and the ageing population are two of the factors causing the inflation in the health service.
According to the OHE, the £8-10bn at stake would cover the costs of family or mental health services for one year, 2 years of cancer treatment, normal births for 27 years or over one and a half years of prescription charges.
When is the government going to take seriously the major funding threats essential public services face, and cut this scandalous and unjustifiable waste of billions of pound on an organisation that cannot tell us with any certainty how that money is being spent, yet whose employees and bureaucrats and MEPs clearly live a lavish lifestyle?
Monday 20 April 2009
Councils do not have enough money to prevent flooding, warns survey
More than half of the councils in England do not have enough funding to protect homes against flooding, town halls have admitted.
Following the devastating floods of 2007 councils were told to improve flood defences and help households to put in place measures to prevent damage.
But a survey by the Local Government Association, reported in the Daily Telegraph, found that 60% of councils still do not have the necessary funds to fulfil their flood risk responsibilities.
It also reveals that a quarter are struggling to recruit and retain the specialist staff needed to improve drainage systems and plan for floods properly.
Despite the need for cutbacks in many areas of government spending in order to recoup the costs of bank bailouts and other economic support, the government has so far refused to re-open the question of the £6bn net a year that Britain pays to the European Union.
This amount was agreed before the economic crisis erupted and before the value of the pound dropped in relation to the euro - the currency in which payments to the EU must be made.
In November last year, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.
Spending on propping up the EU's wasteful institutions should be a prime candidate for cuts before axing council grants or spending on education - both of which have been reported recently.
Following the devastating floods of 2007 councils were told to improve flood defences and help households to put in place measures to prevent damage.
But a survey by the Local Government Association, reported in the Daily Telegraph, found that 60% of councils still do not have the necessary funds to fulfil their flood risk responsibilities.
It also reveals that a quarter are struggling to recruit and retain the specialist staff needed to improve drainage systems and plan for floods properly.
Despite the need for cutbacks in many areas of government spending in order to recoup the costs of bank bailouts and other economic support, the government has so far refused to re-open the question of the £6bn net a year that Britain pays to the European Union.
This amount was agreed before the economic crisis erupted and before the value of the pound dropped in relation to the euro - the currency in which payments to the EU must be made.
In November last year, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.
Spending on propping up the EU's wasteful institutions should be a prime candidate for cuts before axing council grants or spending on education - both of which have been reported recently.
Friday 17 April 2009
Front line council service cut due to £1 bn black hole in council funding
Front line council services will be cut and thousands of workers are set to lose their jobs as recession-hit town halls struggle with a £1 billion black hole.
A Daily Telegraph investigation has established that local authorities in England and Wales are slashing budgets by up to 10 per cent, with social services, education and transport bearing the brunt of the cuts.
Councils also revealed that they were planning to claw back some of their losses by increasing charges for facilities such as car parking and cutting services such as lollipop ladies and meals on wheels.
Many authorities insist that the cuts are necessary to compensate for a lower than average government grant settlement, at a time when demand for services, such as care homes and advice centres, is rising as the pressures of the recession bite.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "Income is falling away very sharply at a time when more and more people are turning to councils for help."
A Daily Telegraph investigation has established that local authorities in England and Wales are slashing budgets by up to 10 per cent, with social services, education and transport bearing the brunt of the cuts.
Councils also revealed that they were planning to claw back some of their losses by increasing charges for facilities such as car parking and cutting services such as lollipop ladies and meals on wheels.
Many authorities insist that the cuts are necessary to compensate for a lower than average government grant settlement, at a time when demand for services, such as care homes and advice centres, is rising as the pressures of the recession bite.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "Income is falling away very sharply at a time when more and more people are turning to councils for help."
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Teachers threaten strike over £200m school funding cuts
Teachers are threatening to strike over plans to cut £200m from school and college budgets amid claims it will "ration" teenagers' opportunities - reports the Daily Telegraph.
They will ballot for industrial action at sixth-forms where staff face redundancies to plug the funding black hole.
The National Union of Teachers branded the cuts "an absolute disgrace" and said Labour risked leaving many young people on the "scrap heap".
It marks a significant escalation of the row over an eleventh-hour drop in funding for institutions across England, putting courses for as many as 50,000 teenagers under threat.
Last week, head teachers warned they could sue the Government's Learning and Skills Council over the episode.
Meanwhile the European Union continues to enjoy its net £6bn a year (or £115m a week) funding deal, agreed in 2005 before the economic crisis erupted.
The Government is facing the need to make major cuts in public spending to compensate for money spent on supporting banks and the economy, but has so far refused to re-open debate on the scale of cash Britain hands to the EU.
This is despite the fact that, back in November, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.
They will ballot for industrial action at sixth-forms where staff face redundancies to plug the funding black hole.
The National Union of Teachers branded the cuts "an absolute disgrace" and said Labour risked leaving many young people on the "scrap heap".
It marks a significant escalation of the row over an eleventh-hour drop in funding for institutions across England, putting courses for as many as 50,000 teenagers under threat.
Last week, head teachers warned they could sue the Government's Learning and Skills Council over the episode.
Meanwhile the European Union continues to enjoy its net £6bn a year (or £115m a week) funding deal, agreed in 2005 before the economic crisis erupted.
The Government is facing the need to make major cuts in public spending to compensate for money spent on supporting banks and the economy, but has so far refused to re-open debate on the scale of cash Britain hands to the EU.
This is despite the fact that, back in November, the accuracy of the EU's accounts was seriously criticised by auditors for the 14th year in a row, with billion of pounds of EU spending once again unaccounted for.
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Shocking state of roads costs UK drivers £1m every day
A survey has confirmed what every motorist already suspected - our roads are becoming almost as potholed as the surface of the moon - reports the Daily Telegraph.
British drivers are now paying out an estimated £1 million every day in repairs because of the shocking state of some highways.
Over an eight-year period up to May 2008, six per cent of cars each year suffered axle and suspension damage thanks to bad roads.
With some claims as high as £2,710 and the average repair costing £240, it means drivers are paying out a total of £413 million a year - even if they do manage to claim the costs back on insurance, or from the roads authority concerned.
British drivers are now paying out an estimated £1 million every day in repairs because of the shocking state of some highways.
Over an eight-year period up to May 2008, six per cent of cars each year suffered axle and suspension damage thanks to bad roads.
With some claims as high as £2,710 and the average repair costing £240, it means drivers are paying out a total of £413 million a year - even if they do manage to claim the costs back on insurance, or from the roads authority concerned.
Sunday 5 April 2009
Colleges forced to take 'drastic measures' after £60 million cut
Head teachers are considering drastic measures, such as turning down thermostats and forgoing new text books, because of a "comprehensive mismanagement" of government funds which may lead to tens of thousands of students losing college places.
The Daily Telegraph reports that a surprise £60 million cut in the budget for the education of 16 to 19 year olds in England was announced to schools last week, jeopardising the future of an estimated 35,0000 students.
This came despite a promise in early March that the money, allocated by the by the Government's Learning and Skills Council, was available to take on more students in a drive to encourage teenagers to stay in education.
Many heads recruited additional sixth-formers in response only to later be told the money was not available.
Now they say they will have to resort to cancelling school trips and building repairs among other "desperate" measures in order to make up for the shortfall.
The Daily Telegraph reports that a surprise £60 million cut in the budget for the education of 16 to 19 year olds in England was announced to schools last week, jeopardising the future of an estimated 35,0000 students.
This came despite a promise in early March that the money, allocated by the by the Government's Learning and Skills Council, was available to take on more students in a drive to encourage teenagers to stay in education.
Many heads recruited additional sixth-formers in response only to later be told the money was not available.
Now they say they will have to resort to cancelling school trips and building repairs among other "desperate" measures in order to make up for the shortfall.
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