Remember around this time last year Peter Mandelson persuaded Gordon Brown he needed a powerbase 'super' ministry to match his political ambitions? Of course Gordon said yes and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills were merged into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). At the time some predicted the move would prove unmanageable and now BIS's most senior civil servant, permanent secretary Simon Fraser, has admitted that trying to create a 'coherent departmental structure' proved a 'major challenge'.
The confusion over the merger even led to major breaches of financial control. On two occasions, Mr Fraser said, the Treasury wrote to the department to warn that BIS officials had 'entered into financial commitment' without authorisation.
BIS has a budget of £33 billion and it is one of the Government's biggest departments. It has now been discovered that Peter Mandelson left a legacy of bad debts which cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds last year. More than £30 million was written off as lost at the Department during 2009/210, while another £71 million is likely to go in this and future years. It is also throwing away almost £12 million a year renting part-empty office blocks which it vacated without finding new tenants. A further £137 million has been set aside to cover those rent losses in future years.
The details are buried in the latest accounts for BIS, which is now run by Libdem Vince Cable and which civil servants regard as a "problem child". The accounts also show BIS wrote off £30.9 million in bad debts last year after deciding the money was unlikely to be recovered and the department has also set aside £71 million for cash it expects to lose in unpaid student loans.
No wish to spoil your Sunday with this example of complete incompetence and mismanagement, but I thought you'd be interested to know, among other things, that the government offer our higher education students loans, then sets money aside to write them off. £71 million is more than 10% of loans granted.
Enjoy your Sunday.
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12 comments:
If we were able to get deep into these missing millions I'm sure we would understand some of Peter P's enormous wealth, as well as many others.
Did you notice how restrained I was not to say that OR? Indeed, but is anyone brave or interested enough to do it? Doubt that.
Subrosa, calm your troubled mind. After all what’s a few billion here or there. Its only to be expected that any Government department will incur a few – “expenses”.
What we should be doing is searching out these profligate pensioners who simply burn money in the form of a Winter Fuel Allowance. You would never find a government department condoning such waste.
Or what about these disabled people actually requiring a Living Allowance? Politicians would never waste money like that on a Living Allowance, no, they would put such monies to good use like cleaning their moats, or new floating duck houses, or porn for their partners.
The sooner this country gets rid of the likes of the pensioners and the disabled, the better things will be, and the sooner politicians can return to the good old days of greed and grab.
Well, I helped Petah along with his pal, beeznessman Geoffrey to take a hike over one of his erm financial wheeler dealings. Something about a house loan ah believe. But Petah has his uses in polite Westmidden society and quite apart from being a deviously clever b@stard he may also have a penchant for K Y gel thus making himself a very slippery object to deal with in the usual appropriate way.
Hi JRB. sad to say they are doing their best to get rid of the pensioners and the disabled.
As for returning to the good old days of greed and grab, I am sorry to have to say,after the manner of the complaints about oversight of their expenses claims, they never left them.
This probably explains why Mandie was sacked twice before. There is more here than meets the eye?
Hello John. Aye, they seem set on getting rid of the elderly and disabled by having dirty hospitals, filling us with pills etc.
Is it any wonder the universities' intakes are in a mess when Mandelson was in charge of it?
Ah so twas you then wisnaeme? I hope Petah gave you your usual 25% commission. ;)
Well said Apogee.
There could be Dioclese but will anyone be brave enough to do some forensic accountancy?
He had the whips out for me, Subrosa. Himself, Geoffrey and others of the whiter than white comrade partei cartel were not quite appreciative fans of myself and other good folk's mischief making. Aye, that wee letter to the Mail had the result we intended it to have.
Well done wisnaeme. I'm always delighted when desired results are achieved!
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