A series of freedom of information requests by the TaxPayers' Alliance have revealed the large sums of taxpayers' cash spent on overseas recruitment of nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. Across England, acute NHS trusts spent at least £3,347,084 and taxpayers funded 762 trips abroad for NHS employees.
There were 239 recruitment drives, targeting 15 countries. The countries most targeted by the trusts were the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Italy and Australia.
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In an exclusive with The Telegraph, our analysis showed that Rotherham sent nine staff on a single expedition but the majority of trust trips took four personnel or fewer.
Royal United Hospitals Bath alone spent £415,184 which equalled 12 per cent of total expenditure. The ten biggest spenders accounted for 69 per cent of the total.
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Giving his view on the findings to journalist Laura Donnelly, our research director Duncan Simpson explained, "These figures raise questions about the huge spending disparities when it comes to overseas recruitment. Taxpayers pay huge amounts for a comprehensive health service and expect to get the vital services they need, not funding expensive excursions."
We're calling on trusts to make sure they are providing value for money, especially when it comes to foreign jaunts for NHS staff.
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Many of you recently got in touch to voice your disapproval at yet another year of council tax rises. So I'm delighted to say that our first action day of 2022 will take place next week in Havering on Wednesday 16th February.
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The council is planning a 3 per cent rise and our research suggests there is plenty of wasteful spending that could be eradicated. We'll be doing our best to stop the rise!
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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Public sector pay soars again!
From day one the TaxPayers' Alliance has exposed high public sector pay. New figures by The Times show that the number of civil servants receiving remuneration in excess of £200,000 "has more than tripled over the past ten years." In total, 108 panjandrums are on more than £200,000. It may come as little surprise that HS2 chief exec Mark Thurston topped the charts with at £620,000!
Our team immediately set about taking these public sector bosses to task. Speaking to viewers across the country on GBNews our digital campaign manager Joe Ventre was scathing, "I fail to see how that is a fair deal. It's time for ministers to rein in these pay packets!"
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This was followed up with a comment piece in the Daily Express by Duncan Simpson who took aim at overly generous public sector pensions. He writes:
"TaxPayers’ Alliance research shows that public sector workers retire on pensions three times larger than their private sector counterparts, despite rising life expectancy and low long-term interest rates." Adding "It’s made worse by the fact that the Government’s pension promises are unfunded and will continue to be paid out of general taxation."
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Bumper civil service salaries continue to add to taxpayers’ burdens. Some mandarins may have earned their keep, but the costs will be shouldered by hardworking families contending with a cost-of-living crisis.
Ministers must get a grip on spiralling public sector pay-packets before bringing in any more rate rises.
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High taxes and bloated state are stalling growth
Our lifetime tax research continues to cut through with the British public and politicians. Findings by our research team that the lower 20 per cent of earners will now work for 23.5 to pay off their lifetime tax bills were featured on ITV's popular political show, Peston.
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It's great to see that our message is reaching more and more people every day. The government can no longer ignore the punitive effects of high taxation.
A big consequence of rising taxes is the further expansion of the public sector. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation expects the state to grow by a further £76 billion by the end of the decade.
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Covered on the front page of CityAM, our chief executive John O'Connell perfectly explained why things must change:
"Taxpayers cannot be expected to underwrite unlimited rises in government spending. With the average household now facing a £1 million lifetime tax bill, further hikes to meet spending commitments will trap taxpayers in an endless cycle of lower productivity, stunted growth and lower long-term tax receipts.
We're telling the government to reject the tired argument that spending cannot be reined in and instead go for growth by backing business and cutting taxes.
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NHS backlog shows taxpayers not getting value for money
The number of people waiting for operations on the NHS has risen sharply to six million and Sajid Javid conceded this week that it will likely rise further in the coming months.
It's sparked concerns in many quarters that the government isn't doing enough to tackle the problem, especially given the huge amounts of taxpayer funding the health service has received recently.
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Speaking to The Times, John called for taxpayers to get a better deal, "Given the scale of the new health and social care levy, taxpayers will be disappointed by the time taken to tackle these backlogs. Previous large cash injections into the NHS have seen money wasted on IT projects and wage bills, with funds not focussed on outcomes on patients."
Health chiefs they must get to grips with cutting towering backlogs and pursue value for money for taxpayers.
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Unchecked inflation: will restaurants pay the price?
Hospitality businesses were one of the worst-hit by successive lockdowns. Almost 1,000 pubs and restaurants closed in the three months from July to September 2021, and the first lockdown alone cost the industry £45 billion.
As TPA researcher Tom Ryan writes this week, a multitude of pressures is leaving hospitality businesses with little option but to increase their prices, and we’re in danger of drinking and dining out becoming the preserve of the well-off. So what can the government do to prevent this?
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Rather than taking with one hand and giving with the other, ministers must ensure taxpayers and businesses keep more of the money they have earned.
By extending the temporary VAT decrease into 2023 and reigning in public spending post-covid, the government can ease our economic recovery without building up further debt. It would be a tragedy for venues that have limped through lockdown and are finally getting back on their feet to fall at the final hurdle. Click here to read more.
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Shocking waste of cash will give taxpayers an 'art attack'
According to the Daily Mail, the Institute of Contemporary arts received £2.7million in five government grants last year and the gallery is set to host an exhibit that will "feature 13 artists, including sex workers, a porn actress and strippers, alongside art featuring sex, nudity and violence."
Publicity for the Decriminalising Futures exhibition says it will "highlight the history of the sex worker rights movement" and its "links to issues of racial and social justice, migrant rights, labour rights, anti-austerity work, and queer and trans liberation."
Responding to the news, the TPA was less than complimentary of this expenditure, "Families facing a record tax burden are fed up with funding such cultural indulgences. Ministers must get a grip on grants for the arts and ensure taxpayers’ money is not being wasted."
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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