This is not a blueprint for a small corporation, in retreat from digital – but sometimes we must leave space for othersThe BBC has one mission: to inform, educate and entertain audiences with programmes and services of high quality, originality and value. It strives to fulfil this mission not to further any political or commercial interest, but because the British public believe that universal access to ideas and cultural experiences of merit and ambition is a good in itself. The BBC is a part of public space because the public themselves have put it there.Public space is an open and enriching environment. There are no paywalls in public space. While commercial media companies have to assign different values to different target audiences – favouring the affluent, for example, or the...

Survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development shows one in four employers planning to make redundanciesAlmost a third of public sector employers are planning to cut jobs during the first quarter of this year, amid warnings that the "starting gun for a public sector recession has been fired".In a survey of 700 employers, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said today that redundancies in both the public and private sectors are set to accelerate during the first three months of 2010.The CIPD report showed that one in four employers across all sectors planned to make redundancies in the first three months of the year, cutting an average 6.2% of their workforce, compared with 3.8% taken out by employers making redundancies in the previous quarter. In...

Wrong type of deckchairWhen we started BOM back in 2005, identifying government waste was still a minority sport. True, we'd had Gershon Mk I and the Tory James Review, but on the other side there were plenty of Big Government types arguing that overall, the public sector did a pretty good job at a very reasonable price.We are now in very different times. Our fiscal crisis is concentrating minds all over. The world and his wife now agree that the public sector is bloated and inefficient, with huge scope for efficiency savings. Or to put it another way, we could cut public spending with no appreciable decline in the delivery of public services.How big are the potential savings? Regular BOM readers will be familiar with some of the key evidence.First, we have the international...

It seems that every major political party is in agreement that the economic crisis will have to result in public sector cuts of some sort.Thus we hear on a daily basis various different ideas about how this will be done, including a freeze on public sector pay and other suggestions too.Whenever these points are raised and people from the public sector oppose them it's also met with the response that they just don't understand financial reality, unlike their private sector equivalents.In fact it is simply an example of people protecting their jobs and conditions, which is hardly a surprise (and something which could be true of private staff too). However what about looking at this another way?If a private company decides a particular department or business is no longer cost effective then...

A series of proposals to reform the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) have won the backing of the public in a new IPSOS-MORI poll (8-17 January, 980 individuals) commissioned by the Media Standards Trust: By a 61% margin the public believe the chief purpose of this body should be to monitor compliance with the code of practice and conduct investigations where there is public concern rather than its current chief purpose of mediating on complaints between newspapers and complainants (73% – 12%) By a 44% margin the public back an independent regulatory body over the current industry-run arrangements (52% – 8%) By a 43% margin the public back the body having an obligation to investigate where there is evidence of inaccuracy in newspapers over the current policy of waiting for a...

David Cameron’s speech on the economy presents public debt as if it’s the cause of the economic crisis, when the actual cause is private debt, created by the same de-regulated ‘enterprise economy’ which he offers as a solution to the crisis (1).Most public debt is not the result of ‘big government’ over-spending on the public sector, but of big companies donating to political parties and getting massive subsidies from the public sector as a result.The most notorious example is of course bailing out debts run up by private banks due to a mixture of deregulation by liberals and conservatives alike on both sides of the Atlantic and an attempt by the Clinton administration to provide housing for the poorest without public spending or public housing , by requiring banks to fund it....

In my last post on this subject, I asked Sunny who, exactly, decided who the "deserving" rich were. And this is his reply...@devilskitchen the public decides who is 'deserving'. If you actually do some reading at the link I posted, you'll see a full report on itThe "public" decides, does it? And what do "the public" know of individual cases? What do "the public" know about what work it takes to do a job?And how shall "the public" decide—through referenda? Will these be held at regular intervals? This year, for instance, "the public" might decide that the bankers should be absolutely crushed with taxes: two years ago, "the public" might have decided that Gordon's praise for the bankers was entirely sincere and voted barely to tax them at all.How, pray, shall "the public" decide on what...

By coincidence here in Ireland it was also budget day, the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan delivered a 7% cut in public expenditure to match the 7.5% fall in GDP in 2009.  To equal that Alastair Darling would need to have announced £40 billion in public expenditure cuts today. Here are some of the reasons Guido thinks Ireland will bounce back faster than the UK: Corporate and capital tax breaks for start-ups have been extended Corporation tax rate of 12.5% is ‘here to stay’ “Green tax cuts” for zero emission vehicles VAT has been reduced by ½% Public services efficiencies sort Welfare benefits reduced to 2006 levels, ocial welfare bill cut by equivalent to 1.5% of public expenditure Dole allowance to be reduced to €150 a month Social welfare to be cut 4.1%...

Julian Ware-Lane, Labour’s candidate for Castle Point, has added his voice to the Unison campaign to create a fairer society. “I believe we need public services to help our economy recover from the recession. Our services look after people in good times and in bad and are making our country a fairer place. Our public services need investment, not cuts and privatisation.” “I have been a public servant, and have family members and friends who work in public services. I know they work hard for little reward, doing valuable work” said Julian. Julian chose to support the ‘A million voices for change’ campaign when Lorraine Warwick, Vice Chair for Unison Labour Link, approached me and explained that UNISON, the UK’s leading public service...

Cutting the fiscal deficit means tough action on salaries, and the Public Sector Rich List shows those at the top must take a leadThe outlook for pay in the public sector is getting grimmer and grimmer. Britain has the second-highest budget deficit in the EU. That isn't just a temporary result of the recession; according to the IMF we have the second highest structural deficit in our fiscal primary balance of 22 developing countries, at a colossal 7.8% of our national income.Action needs to be taken to curb that deficit; if whoever forms the government after the next election doesn't grasp the nettle there is every reason to think that we might lose our valuable AAA credit rating, the cost of borrowing will soar and we'll wind up in the vicious cycle of having to take ever more brutal...

Thank you for the chance to post here over the past week. Given how much work it is I don’t know how the regular conspirators have time to do anything else. I have now sifted through the 200 or so comments my posts have generated and thought it might be worth responding to them as best I can in this limited space. Responses to about half of the comments, particularly those related to public attitudes toward specific issues and concerns about question wording or levels of public knowledge and coherent thinking about these issues, can be found in Public Opinion and Constitutional Controversy. But in this post I will deal with the meta question that several of you have raised: What’s the point of studying public opinion on these topics? I get this a lot. The short answer is I find...

The special public meeting in Ivybridge about Viridor’s plans for an incinerator at New England Quarry to take place at 2pm on Saturday, November 21, will have an empty chair where the Viridor representative should be. Viridor’s technical development manager told thisisplymouth: “We won’t be going because they chose a Saturday when we have no one available.” Presumably Viridor staff have their own public meetings to attend on Saturday. “We have absolutely nothing to hide and we’re more than happy to talk to them,” he continued. “But if they are going to choose a weekend to hold a meeting it would be best to talk to us first.” Who would have thought that the public would hold a public meeting that was convenient for the public. It...

People speak of the internet, the walkman, the personal computer, the mobile phone, the anti-itchy-knee device and - even - nuclear-powered shopping tigers as the defining technological innovations of recent years. But, if his new prototype lives up to its potential then Porrigestain Mankyvest will surely be the contemporary inventor whose name lives on into well into the future. Although still at the prototype stage, his - as yet unnamed - device could be the one technological innovation that will revolutionize the lives and careers of so many people who work in public service jobs. From politicians and their civil servants through local government workers right down to the sales assistants in computer retail chain stores, this device could undoubtedly revolutionise the jobs these...

The first years of David Cameron's leadership of the Conservatives have been a largely policy free zone. In that sense the Tories took a leaf out of the Tony Blair playbook: establish some kind of trust in the minds of the electorate and their votes will follow, even if they disagree with some aspect of your policies (which most voters will do).In that sense, the Conservative conference was a significant change of tack- George Osborne has been prepared to set out a clear policy of a pay freeze and deep cuts in public expenditure. For this he was lauded in the media as being rather brave. That the financial burden of the state is too large is now frankly pretty obvious, yet the way in which the Conservatives are likely to attempt to reform the public sector will most likely be counter...

I received the following from the SLP which I fully endorse: Sunday, October 11, 2009 Campaign for Public Ownership Press Release on the Government's Fire-Sale of state assets SUNDAY 11th OCTOBER 2009 The Campaign For Public Ownership strongly opposes the government's plan for a fire-sale of state assets in order to cut the public deficit. It beggars belief that after Britain's disastrous experience of privatisation, anyone still believes that selling off the family silver can improve the public finances in the long-term. The Tote, the Dartford crossing, the channel tunnel rail link, and the Student Loan book and other assets earmarked for sale by Gordon Brown should be kept in public ownership. If the government does want to save money, then why doesn't it listen to the majority of...

Harridan Harperson, sorry Harriet Harman faced accusations of resorting to smears today as she launched a bizarre 'class war' attack on the Tories. Labour's deputy leader suggested the Conservatives idea of 'diversity' was fox-hunting, opening sleazy lap-dancing parlours and making women serve drinks in private members' clubs. This is the woman who just before the MPs’ expenses scandal broke and whilst the media was focused on the large pension of Sir Fred Goodwin’s and Harperson was the subject of much talk on her alledged plotting to replace PM McSnotty; she famously suggested that Mr Goodwin’s pension would not happen - this was a pension agreed as part of a banking deal that involved government - because the Prime Minister did not want it to happen. Then we had her...

David Cameron has, correctly, said that he will not be using the Thatcherite solutions should he get into Downing Street. The solutions Margaret Thatcher used in the 1980s will not work now. The world has moved on. This is a far more serious problem than we faced in the 1980s. This is something we need to do with the public sector, not to the public sector. This is very important: this is not some 1980s-style approach about cutting public spending. It has to be understood that 2009 is different to 1979, and needs a different solution. Now the public sector needs to work with the politicians and accept cutbacks in order to help the country out of the hole Labour have dug for us. Although the same level of strength is not required this time around, it is necessary for the unions to face a...

Brendan Barber yesterday kicked off the war for the meaning of the economic recovery. Speaking in Liverpool to the TUC, he said, “I am so horrified when I hear the Conservatives talk of public expenditure cuts which would turn any progress towards economic recovery into a nose dive back into recession.” Cuts in public spending would result in a ‘double-quick, double-dip’ fall in the economy. Gordon Brown wasn’t content to leave it at that though: his own speech made a play for the meaning of the recovery also. “”People’s livelihoods and homes and savings are still hanging in the balance, and so today I say to you: don’t put the recovery at risk…We have to make tough choices in public spending and we will need the support of the...

Now, as we all know, if you don't spend lots and lots of money—increasing amounts, in fact—on public services, then they just won't get any better. And, by extension, if you cut spending then public services will get worse, right?But the question is always—better or worse for whom? NuLabour has splurged vast amounts of cash on education, the NHS, etc. and yet there is very little indication that the quality of the outcomes has changed.Sure, the people employed in those sectors have got handsome pay rises but then I don't see why the rest of us should be impoverished because the state is a shit employer—or because people were willing to work for less money than they might.Whilst all nurses are angels and every teacher is a positive saint, but public services do not—in...

Public sector net borrowing of £8bn for month much worse than forecasts of £500m and the first time the government finances have been in the red in July since 1996Britain's public finances plunged far deeper into the red last month than the City expected, recording an £8bn deficit.This was the biggest July shortfall since records began in 1993 in a month that traditionally records a surplus.Public sector net borrowing came in at £8.016bn - much worse than analysts' forecasts of a £500m shortfall and the first time the government finances have been in the red in July since 1996.The public finances are normally in surplus in July. Last year the surplus amounted to £5.2bn, the Office for National Statistics said this morning.The Treasury said the deterioration was the result of the...

At last the immutable truth has been spoken - Scotland (and the rest of the UK) faces huge cuts in public expenditure to pay for the excess of the past few years and the current economic crisis.Make no mistake, this is going to happen. No let me correct this, this needs to happen, and any Government that fails to face this is only going to exacerbate this problem.Some 4 years ago, I predicted that the growth in public spending was going to cause a huge problem for the public finances, and that the public sector was going to have to face the prospect of huge cuts in its budget.I had no idea that the credit crunch was coming too, but the underlying problem remains - we are spending too much on the public sector, and there needs to be cuts to balance the books.The exact same problem would...

Now, here’s a challenge – write an entire article about public lavatories without recourse to toilet humour. Here goes, courtesy of the BBC write-up… Local authorities should have a “statutory duty” to provide public toilets, the government has been urged. Some 26 MPs have signed a House of Commons motion arguing that the closure of public lavatories in recent years has been damaging. … The MPs, led by the Lib Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron, are backing a campaign by the British Toilets Association (BTA) for better facilities. Mr Farron said the fact councils were not compelled to provide toilets meant many areas – particularly in the countryside – faced a chronic lack of amenities. “It’s an issue for everybody – we...

Too many of Britain's public toilets are disgusting, in a dangerous area, badly lit or simply closed.Thankfully, 26 MP's have signed a a House of Commons motion arguing that the recent closure of public toilets has been damaging.In London, the Great Portland Street area is terrible for a lack of public toilets, while ironically the best public toilets I have visited are outside nearby Baker Street underground station.Thankfully, Walthamstow, where I currently live, at least has decent toilets in the bus station (nice blue lights, classical music). When I go to Oxford city centre, I usually use the Debenhams store toilets , as the public toilets near the Ashmolean museum seem pretty disgusting.If you are concerned about the lack of decent public toilets, you can join the British Toilet...

Ugh. The UK’s taxpayer-funded National Portrait Gallery is suing an individual Wikipedia user for uploading public images of Victorian paintings that are firmly in the public domain. Wikimedia and the Wikipedia Foundation takes the stance, correctly in my opinion, that… “faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain, and that claims to the contrary represent an assault on the very concept of a public...

In the real world, the public sector must pay Private sector workers are tired of footing the bill for bloated, inefficient services and the fat cats who run them Camilla Cavendish The mild-mannered head of the Audit Commission has lit the blue touchpaper and not retired — making him extremely rare among officials who usually save inconvenient truths for their valedictory speeches. The outraged reaction to Steve Bundred’s suggestion that a year’s pay freeze for public sector workers could help to save Britain from bankruptcy shows a fascinating disconnection from reality. I am reliably told that civil servants are quietly planning for possible 20 per cent cuts in public expenditure, and that some local authorities are discussing cuts of up to 30 per cent at awaydays. But the...

Public sector ahead for two decadesIn the comments on yesterday's post DM Andy accused Tyler of cherry-picking his evidence on public sector pay, by only showing the last decade:"That's a rather cherry picked graph there Tyler. The ONS data goes back to 1990 and shows the private sector started off lagging behind the public sector during the early 90s recession, the private sector moving into the lead in the boom years and now the public sector catching up again in another recession."Now, Tyler can stand many things, but being accused of picking cherries is not one of them. So the above chart puts things right by showing the entire data period right back to 1990.However, although the ONS average earnings indices show relative movement over time, they give no indication of relative...

This post is about opinion polls on the public finances.Thank you both for reading on.Last week I noted a couple of polls showing that more people thought the Tories could cut government spending without harming public services than thought Labour could. A bit of a blow for Labour, really.Now another poll, by Ipsos MORI, heaps more bad news on Labour:62% agreed (27% disagreed) that “there are many public services that are a waste of money and can be cut”.79% agreed (13% disagreed) that “making public services more efficient can save enough money to help cut government spending, without damaging services the public receive”.40% thought that a Tory government “would be most effective in getting good value for the public money it spends” against 25% for Labour.This confirms the...

Swivel eyes not required to see this oneUnlike Tyler, Steve Bundred is no swivel-eyed small government zealot. He is a senior public servant, the head of the government's Audit Commission.Yet on Sunday he told us:"At a time when inflation is likely to be between 2% and 3%, a pain-free way of cutting public spending would be to freeze public sector pay, or at least impose severe pay restraint. This is especially true if real wages in the private sector are still falling. Health and education will not be immune, partly for reasons of fairness to others, partly because the NHS is the world's third largest employer, and also because ministers will correctly assume that as public sector workers have done well over the past decade, they will tolerate some modest real reduction in earnings.So...

My suspicion that shouting ‘Tory cuts’ isn’t going to do Labour much good in the coming months is supported by two recent polls.First, YouGov asked whether people thought is was possible “in principle” to reduce public spending by up to 10% "by running our public services more efficiently, and without reducing the quality of public services or the level of welfare benefits".33% thought it definitely possible, 44% probably possible, 12% probably not possible and 3% definitely not possible.In practice, though, the spending cuts that parties would actually make were judged less optimistically – but this finding won’t help Labour. YouGov asked whether the Conservatives could reduce public spending by up to 10% “while preserving the quality of public services and the level of...

Out in the big bad world, a million miles from the venal world of MPs' expenses, The Independent is getting terribly excited over the prospect of Gordon Brown "doing a startling U-turn over the official inquiry into the Iraq war", leading to an expectation that evidence could be given in public.This follows the announcement that there will be a Commons debate on the issue next Wednesday and a vote that could see a rebellion by Labour MPs. The prospect of a humiliating defeat is, apparently, concentrating minds.Other public figures are also weighing into the debate, including two peers who chaired previous inquiries into aspects of the Iraq conflict, Lord Hutton and Lord Butler of Brockwell. They both support the bulk of the evidence to be heard in public.Dannatt has also broken cover,...