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TPA calls out £452,000 “Havering handout” for councillors
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The TaxPayers' Alliance headed back to Havering this week to continue our campaign against a planned rise in council tax. Further research has revealed that councillors of the borough are set to receive over £452,000 this year in special responsibility allowances (SRAs) funded by local residents.
Dubbed by us as the “Havering handout” we're calling on councillors to reject the allowances and vote against the proposed council tax rise this Wednesday.
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Our team assembled outside Havering Town Hall holding up novelty cheques to highlight just how much these SRAs are costing taxpayers. Covered for the second week in a row in the local press, we revealed that every single one of the 25 Conservative council members receives a special responsibility allowance (SRA).
We pounded the pavements in Havering and delivered thousands of leaflets urging residents to contact their councillors and call on them to oppose the tax rise.
With no party in overall control of the council, we'll keep campaigning ahead of next week's vote to push home our advantage and defeat the rise.
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We're not resting on our laurels - we're building momentum! Our message is cutting through. Councillors need to do what is right for their residents. It isn’t fair that local taxpayers will see their council tax increase during a cost of living crisis.
The council should lead by example. Cutting allowances is a simple way to save and reduce the burden on residents.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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£2.9 billion surplus in public sector borrowing
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday surprised many as public sector borrowing showed a surplus of £2.9 billion in January. Speaking to listeners on talkRADIO, our research director Duncan Simpson said the country still had a long way to go on the journey to economic recovery.
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In conversation with presenter Nick de Bois, he explained that the government shouldn't use these figures as an excuse to spend even more money. In reality, the chancellor should use this extra fiscal headroom to offset his planned tax hikes and prevent them from stifling economic growth.
Duncan urged the chancellor to cut taxes for both consumers and businesses at the upcoming Spring Statement. This is a message we'll be repeating loud and clear in the coming days, weeks and months. Click here to listen to a clip from the interview.
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NHS rainbow crossings
Freedom of information requests made by the TPA has shone yet more light on unnecessary spending by the NHS. Our investigations revealed that more than 20 NHS trusts have spent £46,000 on rainbow crossings since 2019.
Released exclusively with The Mail we found that trusts such as Wiltshire and South West Yorkshire spent £11,000 and £5,000 respectively "pandering to woke nonsense" as Sir John Hayes MP put it.
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Comments Duncan Simpson very much echoed, "NHS managers should not be splashing out on pointless paint jobs. With working households facing the looming health and social care levy, patients expect to see hospital bosses focus their funds on the frontline."
We are sending a clear signal to NHS trusts that not one more penny of taxpayers’ cash should be wasted on rainbow crossings.
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Billions lost to covid fraud
The latest report by the public accounts committee has laid bare the staggering sums of taxpayers' cash lost to covid fraud and error. It is estimated that just the losses from support schemes for businesses will be at least £15 billion. Concerns were also raised that HM Treasury isn't doing enough to identify and clawback much-need public money.
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Speaking to viewers on GBNews, our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall urged "the government to do everything in its power to recoup as much money as possible." As things stand, only £6 million is expected to be recouped from the £4.9 billion Bounce Back Loan Scheme - or 0.1 per cent to put it another way!
We're telling the government it must do more. Britain can't afford to pour money down the drain. Click here to watch a clip from the interview.
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Scottish government splashes the cash on lavish events
The Daily Express has revealed that the Scottish government spent £7,000 of taxpayers' cash on "lavish overseas events" during the lockdown in 2021. According to the paper, public money was forked out on "salmon, whiskey and luxury chocolates" for events in Paris and Dublin.
Defending the spend, a Scottish government spokesperson said, "Such events are an essential part of official government business as they promote Scottish business and the economy."
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But I disagreed as I made clear in my comments to readers, "Scots will be outraged at this more than questionable use of their cash. While people were following the rules politicians gorged themselves at taxpayer expense. Public money should be spent on essential services rather than lavish banquets."
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Net Zero: the latest wave of public sector non-jobs
We saw from the news last weekend that there are hundreds of NHS bosses being paid more than the PM. As our operations director Sara Rainwater writes this week, whether it’s highly paid middle managers or controversial diversity tsars, politicians have done a poor job of keeping an eye on the public sector workforce.
The problem is getting worse. The NHS recently advertised for a "Head of Sustainability and Net Zero". A grand title and a grand salary at £93,735 to £108,075 per year! This isn't a one-off, a quick search revealed another five such jobs.
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The prime minister insists that “every penny” raised from the upcoming national insurance (NI) hike will be spent on improving social care and cutting NHS waiting lists. How can the NHS justify such salaries for jobs that aren’t going to help cut waiting times, or improve social care?
April is going to be a painful month for a lot of people as the cost of living crisis ramps up another notch and, as we all prepare to pay 1.25 per cent more in NI contributions, seeing this kind of wasteful spending will feel like a kick in the teeth for many. Click here to read more.
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The cost of "pricey promotions"
An investigation of Scottish local authorities has revealed the tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' cash spent on social media influencers. Six out of 32 councils spent a total of around £62,000 since 2016.
According to the Scottish Mail on Sunday, "Fife Council recorded the highest total spend since 2016 of £21,514 – more than £3,500 a year. The other local authorities with influencers on their payroll were Edinburgh City, East Lothian, Angus, North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire."
It's astonishing that taxpayers' hard-earned money was squandered on expensive influencers. It's also outrageous that some local authorities thought paying for these pricey promotions was a priority during the pandemic. We are urging councils to cut back on wasteful spending like this and focus on providing essential services.
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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