RecQuery
28-Jun-11, 09:38
[/URL][URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/24/bad-science-local-goverment-savings-ben-goldacre"] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/24/bad-science-local-goverment-savings-ben-goldacre (http://%20http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/24/bad-science-local-goverment-savings-ben-goldacre)
Basically Ben Goldacre utterly destroys the credibility of the government's £10bn efficiency savings report.
This is genuinely astounding. The report extrapolates possible 20% savings on mobile phone bills, which cost £600,000, to the entire local government budget of £50bn, and concludes that £10bn savings are possible. This figure is then used to demonstrate that budget cuts need not affect frontline services. Eric Pickles response, from his departmental press release:
Let there be no doubt whatsoever - today's figures show that there is significant scope for councils to make taxpayers' money work even harder. We've always said that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the availability of financial data has helped identify numerous ways that councils can reduce expenditure while offering the same or better services to residents. If councils improved their procurement and joint working on waste services, councils could afford to offer more frequent and regular rubbish collections. There's no excuse for cutting the front line when there are so many savings to be found in the way back office services and run and paid for.
Beyond belief and another reason we need more scientists and engineers in government.
EDIT: Fixing link
Basically Ben Goldacre utterly destroys the credibility of the government's £10bn efficiency savings report.
This is genuinely astounding. The report extrapolates possible 20% savings on mobile phone bills, which cost £600,000, to the entire local government budget of £50bn, and concludes that £10bn savings are possible. This figure is then used to demonstrate that budget cuts need not affect frontline services. Eric Pickles response, from his departmental press release:
Let there be no doubt whatsoever - today's figures show that there is significant scope for councils to make taxpayers' money work even harder. We've always said that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the availability of financial data has helped identify numerous ways that councils can reduce expenditure while offering the same or better services to residents. If councils improved their procurement and joint working on waste services, councils could afford to offer more frequent and regular rubbish collections. There's no excuse for cutting the front line when there are so many savings to be found in the way back office services and run and paid for.
Beyond belief and another reason we need more scientists and engineers in government.
EDIT: Fixing link