Another week and another victory for taxpayers as the government announced it will stop ploughing cash into "unconscious bias training" (UBT). Back in October in an exclusive with The Sunday Telegraph, we revealed that over £400,000 was spent on UBT courses in the past two years.
These damning revelations spurred ministers into action. After sustained campaigning by the TaxPayers' Alliance the government has axed this wanton waste.
To show just how farcical this spending was, we've designed a "Woke Whitehall" true or false quiz Some of these examples we found are almost unbelievable. Click here to take the quiz.
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With extensive laws already in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace, these costly courses were never required and saw officials ripped off in the rush to be right-on.
Mandarins should take great care not to let the pursuit of sensitive social justice causes see money spent poorly. The TaxPayers' Alliance isn't stopping here though. As part of our Clean up the state campaign we are urging the government to do more and eradicate further wasteful spending in Whitehall
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Councillors cost £255 million in a single year
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Meticulous research by the TaxPayers' Alliance has revealed that £255 million of allowances was paid to local councillors in 2018-19. The findings show the considerable differences in the basic allowance paid to elected members not only across the country but also between authorities carrying out the same functions in nearby areas.
Scotland has the highest-paid councillors with an allowance of £16,994 each. The UK’s lowest was paid by Torbay at a mere £687. In England, Manchester city council topped the charts at £16,926.
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Nobody expects councillors to work for free but it is surprising to see just how much allowances differ between local authorities. As the TaxPayers' Alliance has consistently argued councils must do everything possible to keep rates as low as possible for residents.
How can it be fair that councillors claim they don't have enough money for front line services but then reward themselves with generous allowances. We are ramping up the pressure on local authorities. With the country facing a deep recession, they must put the needs of their constituents above their pay packets.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Soaring pay for civil servants
It wasn't just councillors enjoying generous remuneration. The Daily Mail splashed the news that the total cost of civil servants wages had risen to £99.8 million as of 2019. Over 550 mandarins enjoyed taxpayer-funded remuneration in excess of £150,000. Perhaps most shocking of all was the £625,000 paid to Mark Thurston, chief executive of HS2 Ltd.
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TPA chief executive John O'Connell was absolutely scathing of the spending, telling the Mail, "These soaring salaries are beyond the wildest dreams of most taxpayers. The fact that these staggering sums have been paid to bureaucrats overseeing massive failures like the HS2 gravy train makes it even harder to swallow."
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Parking mad
Motorists were stunned to learn that councils raked in £1.76 billion of parking fees last year. Everything from pay and display car parks to congestion charges saw local authorities amass total profits of £897 million!
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Fighting the corner of over-taxed motorists our research director Duncan Simpson was invited onto Mike Graham's ever popular talkRadio show to air his concerns.
Duncan argued that while councils are right to fine people for illegal parking, they shouldn’t see drivers as cash cows purely to generate extra revenue. The TPA will continue to fight against punitive motoring taxes. Click here to watch a clip from the interview.
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Axe the Tax campaign reaches millions
Our campaign to abolish the BBC licence fee continues to go from strength to strength. With negotiations underway on the cost of the TV tax from 2022, comments by John O'Connell were published in hundreds of local newspapers. Millions of Brits are hearing our message loud and clear.
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John told reporters, “Auntie must be ordered to keep costs down to protect households from yet another painful rise in the licence fee. But to guarantee the best value for money, ministers must prepare to bring the BBC’s funding model into the 21st century. Public service broadcasters can only compete and survive if we axe the TV tax and let the BBC stand on its own two feet.”
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PPE contracts: was our money wasted?
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has kept a close eye on PPE contracts ever since the start of the pandemic. We've consistently denounced the government over unaccountable government contracts which ignored its own competitive tendering processes and wasted millions of pounds.
Writing for the TPA blog, grassroots assistant Kieran Neild-Ali has analysed a damning report by the National Audit Office (NAO) into PPE procurement. As he discovered there were significant shortcomings in the government's approach, "The NAO found that 71 contracts worth £1.5 billion were awarded without financial and company due diligence being carried out."
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There is no excuse for wasting taxpayers' cash on unusable equipment and contracts awarded without competitive tender. An efficient, swift and decisive inquiry into the handling of the covid crisis can’t come soon enough
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Trimming the fat cats
As I wrote this week in my column for ConservativeHome, there is good news for ratepayers in Stoke. The council has outlined plans to cut four members of senior staff - a move that is forecast to save £360,000 a year.
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It's great to see council bosses are looking to make savings - especially at a time when every penny really does count. If more local authorities followed their lead, recurring total savings could be as high as £45 million a year. Read the full analysis here.
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Fighting for taxpayers in 2021
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As this will be the last Weekly Bulletin of 2020 I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Despite the pandemic it's been another superb year for the TaxPayers' Alliance as detailed in our annual review.
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The TPA never rests on its laurels though. We'll still be fighting for taxpayers over the Christmas holidays and beyond. You can count on us to stand up for taxpayers in 2021. I hope you will continue to support us.
Thank you.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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