Today the TaxPayers’ Alliance is proposing new measures to transform the effectiveness and transparency of public bodies. We are calling on the government to implement a points-based appointments system.
As we recently highlighted these bodies have substantial decision-making responsibilities and were funded by taxpayers to the tune of £206.4 billion in 2019. Furthermore, their board members tend to come from a narrow pool of appointees - these bodies do not represent the balance of views in Britain.
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Our report - with a foreword by former MP Douglas Carswell - recommends implementing a transparent and innovative system. This would encourage new talent to apply to public roles - creating political, geographical diversity and perhaps most important of all, diversity of thought.
Thanks to coverage in the national press such as The Telegraph, our proposals are already reaching policy makers and millions of Brits.
Our message is clear, the well-paid public sector elite which runs Britain's closed shop quangos have long given up on representing taxpayers. It's high time we clean up the state by ending the appointments merry-go-round and implement a transparent points-based system.
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Policy victory! Exit payment cap introduced
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The fifth of November was a day of much celebration for the TaxPayers' Alliance team. Not because of the gunpowder plot but because it marked a great victory for British taxpayers!
After years of persistent campaigning the government introduced a cap on public sector exit payments. It means an end to golden handshakes - no more plush payoffs for civil servants, quangocrats, and town hall fat cats.
We’re delighted to see ministers finally standing up to meddling mandarins by implementing this cap properly and following our suggestions.
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There is a slight sting in the tail however. Local authority bosses could still receive bumper payouts if approved by councillors. Naturally, we stand ready to call out any council that dares to permit this. Taxpayers are making themselves heard - the Sir Humphreys of the world can’t stuff their pockets on their way out!
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TPA Talks - Back to school with Katharine Birbalsingh CBE
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In the latest episode of TPA Talks I had the immense honour of interviewing renowned education reformer Katharine Birbalsingh CBE. In 2010 she spoke out against the poor standards in British education which ultimately had a profound effect on her life. She went on to become the founder and headmistress of the Michaela Community 'free' School in London.
Katharine is a passionate advocate of traditional teaching methods and it's not hard to see why. Her pupils are incredibly well behaved, focused and attentive which led to the Michaela school achieving phenomenal GCSE results in 2019.
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With billions of pounds of public money spent on education it's vital that taxpayers get real bang for their buck. We can't afford to throw money down the drain on poor education that doesn't benefit anyone. I found Katharine's no nonsense approach to education a joy to listen to - make sure you watch this interview!
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode of TPA Talks. If you prefer audio only, we've just launched TPA Talks as a podcast on several outlets:
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Whitehall wokeforce
Two weeks ago we revealed the vast size and cost of Whitehall's "wokeforce". Our research team discovered that nearly 300 government staff have terms such as "equality", "diversity" and "inclusion" (to name just a few) in their job titles. Worse still the wage bill for these non-jobs is estimated at more than £11 million per year!
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TPA chief executive John O'Connell was invited onto Kevin O'Sullivan's talkRadio show to shed more light on this appalling use of taxpayers' cash. He told Kevin that money is being wasted when "bureaucrats decide that they need to hire a load of staff to make sure that they tick boxes." and it must stop! Click here to watch the interview in full.
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Nice work if you can get it
Former foreign secretary David Milliband hit the headlines this week after the Express reported he is paid almost £800,000 a year by a taxpayer-funded charity for the poor. Based in New York he is the presidents of the International Rescue Committee which receives £50 million per year from UK taxpayers!
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Asked for his thoughts, John was quick to call out this scandalous use of public funds, "It's disappointing to see taxpayers' money intended for the poorest going towards these super-sized salaries. Every penny leaving these shores must be accounted for."
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The Redmond Review Debunked
Time and time again, local authorities are caught wasting public money by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. So when the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government commissioned Sir Tony Redmond to review the transparency and quality of councils’ external audits, we had high hopes for a report that would make both holding councils to account, and taxpayers' lives, a whole lot easier.
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Instead, as grassroots assistant Kieran Neild writes, we received a package of recommendations which would only add another defective government regulator to the quango bonfire. There are a couple of ideas in the report that would help to improve council transparency and accountability, but as Kieran argues:
"We need a new way of thinking to overcome governmental challenges that doesn't include more costly quangos... The government needs to think outside the quango box and implement policies which don't further burden taxpayers in times of economic hardship. Because after all, unchecked bureaucracy is a menace to the taxpayer." Read his brilliant analysis in full.
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Common sense prevails at local council
More good news this week as Richmondshire District Council has made the common sense decision to freeze fees for services such as garden waste collection and car park charges for a year. Usually councils are quick to increase these charges as a way to boost their revenue.
In this instance the council has recognised the plight of residents struggling under harsh economic conditions. With a long winter ahead, we can only hope that other local authorities follow in Richmondshire’s footsteps.
The fee freeze is estimated to set the council back by £40,000 - money that could be easily plugged by cutting fat cat salaries and ending wasteful spending. We urge all councils to make savings wherever possible to reduce the burden on ratepayers.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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