It is good to see the press at last exposing the government’s incompetence. They have??finally got the message that the Home Office under Reid is badly run, and they are producing a wide range of worrying stories to show us just how true this is.

It’s not just the Home Office that is run so badly. Most Ministers in this government have no experience of running large organisations, and think being a Minister is about photo opportunities and media interviews. Not for them the hard grind of meeting after meeting with lobby groups, people and institutions affected by each Department’s reach, and with officials to try to get adminisitrative action right. Not for them drafting the speeches and instructions to draftsmen for new legislation themselves - very often they give the appearance of scarcely having read the speech that a civil servant prepares for them.

We see failure after failure to supervise and control the work of the departments.

Work and Pensions has made a mess of setting up the new JobCentre Plus network, with people all over the country left without their entitlements or good service.

The Treasury has made a mess of Tax Credits, paying too much to many and then recouping it in a heavy handed way.

The Defence department has failed to maintain military accommodation to a satisfactory standard, and has failed to supply some??of the basics the army has needed when operating in hostile places.

The Transport department cancelled all new road schemes when it took over on the grounds that everyone could go by train. It has taken them the best part of a decade to realise this cannot work.

The Health department has absorbed huge sums of money from taxpayers, but has not delivered much extra for it. So?? much has gone on higher pay to those already working for it, on an army of private sector management consultants, and big sums on computers.

The Treasury sold large amounts of our gold from the reserves at the wrong price, a decision which has lost the nation $4.5 million so far.

The Treasury imposed a huge tax on pension funds claiming ti would have not adverse impact on the value of the investments in the fund. Today we know that the outcome was very different.

There is a complete lack of Ministerial grip in most departments, allied to a shameful reluctance to tell the truth to Parliament whenever needs arises.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS