Latest news with #JoannaMarchong
Spectator
01-08-2025
- Business
- Spectator
Why the Valuation Office Agency isn't value for money
Another day, another dispiriting quangocracy revelation. This time the spotlight is on the Valuation Office Agency, whose performance has been rapidly declining year on year – while complaints about the organisation have skyrocketed. Freedom of Information data received by the TaxPayers' Alliance shows that call wait times have more than doubled over the last three years, targets have been increasingly missed and complaints about the organisation have shot up by 200 per cent. Dear oh dear… In the 2024/25 financial year, average call wait times for the VOA – which works to provide property valuations and advice to support the administration of taxes and benefits – were almost 10 minutes on average, compared with just over 4 minutes in 2021/22. In 2023/24, two-thirds of calls were answered by an advisor within the organisation's target time, with this figure slumping to 59 per cent the following year. Meanwhile the organisation's performance review admits that it was 'below target' when it came to dealing with council tax and business rates reports in 2022/23. It continued to underperform in following years, steadily getting worse. As readers will expect, complaints rose accordingly in this time. In 2021/22, 762 complaints were made – and of the 771 that were resolved, 40 per cent were at least partially upheld. Instead of learning from this, the VOA appeared to fall further into decline. Complaints rose by 40 per cent the following year, which the organisation attributes to the then-government's energy rebate announcement (which, it says, led to increased demand and therefore more delays). The next year, however, complaints shot up again by almost a third and in the most recent financial year they surged by 70 per cent – with the VOA receiving 2,300 reports of dissatisfaction in 2024/25. Crikey! The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden announced there would be a review of 'arm's length bodies across government', issuing a warning that if departments cannot justify the existence of quangos, they'll be merged or closed. Mr S isn't at all surprised that the VOA has been deemed inefficient, with the organisation set to become part of HMRC under these changes. But, as the TPA's investigations campaign manager Joanna Marchong notes, this 'must be more than a box-ticking exercise'. She added about the rather, er, unflattering figures: Taxpayers were being left on hold while performance at the Valuation Office Agency continued to worsen. Waiting times were climbing year after year, and fewer calls are not being answered on time: it's simply not good enough. Ministers need to ensure this absorption delivers real improvements – not just another layer of Whitehall bureaucracy that is further removed from the taxpayers footing the bill. Quite!
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
NHS trusts budget nearly £2million for 'woke' staff events including 'International Pronouns Day' and talks on 'embracing your Afro hair' and 'breaking the rainbow ceiling'
The NHS has allowed trusts to spend almost £2million on 'staff networks' which have hosted a series of ' woke ' events over the past two years, the Mail can reveal. New figures show the health service budgeted more than £1.8million for the internal staff groupings, which are usually linked to race, sexuality, gender, disability or religion. More than 154 NHS Trusts responded to Freedom of Information requests from the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) revealing how the networks have hosted hundreds of events between 2022 and 2024. They included a Eurovision Viewing Party at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, and an event on 'Embracing Asexuality' at the The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Essex. NHS staff also attended a talk on 'Embracing your Afro/Curly hair' at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and another on 'International Pronouns Day' at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. A talk on 'Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling' was held at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust, while King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust hosted an event on 'pride crafting'. The NHS said many of the events are run at 'no or very low cost', but the TPA said it was 'astonishing' to see staff spending their time at such events instead of focusing on frontline care. It comes after thousands of junior doctors carried out a five-day walkout, after talks between the Government and British Medical Association (BMA) soured over a dispute about pay. The BMA is demanding a 29.2per cent pay rise. More than 1,000 events were held by staff networks between 2022 and 2024, the FOI revealed, at 80 trusts. In total, £1,834,005.6 was provided to the networks in funding, but it is not clear how much was actually spent over the period. Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TPA, said: 'Taxpayers will be dismayed to see NHS trusts pouring more money into staff networks year after year, while waiting lists spiral and junior doctors strike over pay. 'With patients on waiting lists, it's astonishing to see staff spending their working hours at Eurovision parties, open mic nights and summer picnics. 'There is a time and a place for staff engagement and with resident doctors walking out and the NHS haemorrhaging money, now isn't the time. Ministers must get a grip and put patients before perks.' Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice told the Mail: 'Herein lies the problem with our NHS: wasteful spending on pointless woke activities and a bloated middle management, meanwhile frontline services are left underfunded and struggling. 'Reform UK would cut waste and unnecessary management, as well as purposeless DEI initiatives, and pump every penny straight into frontline care where it belongs.' Tory shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said the figures were 'alarming', adding: 'The first priority of the NHS should be to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients, and taxpayer's cash should be spent on improving that - not splashing hundreds of thousands of pounds on sideshows and distractions. 'The Conservatives - under Kemi Badenoch's leadership - are the only party that are serious about delivering the reform the NHS needs, from our common sense proposals to ban doctors from striking, to pushing for improvements in productivity and innovation.' [must keep] An NHS spokesman said: 'Staff networks can play an important role in retaining staff and reducing absenteeism, improving care and savings costs. 'Many staff events – including ones highlighted here – are run at no or very low cost, but where employers do invest in staff it is important that care is taken to ensure it represents good value for taxpayers' money.' NHS England describes staff networks as 'an important mechanism' to 'help us to shape our organisational culture to create a fairer and inclusive work environments for all'. Many NHS trusts have staff networks representing those who are BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic), LGBT+, women, or who have a particular religion or belief.
Scottish Sun
26-04-2025
- Scottish Sun
Fury as ‘out-of-touch' BBC splurge £1k on taxi ride paid for by YOU
The BBC's most expensive flight expense has also been revealed AUNTIE TRAVEL SPLURGE Fury as 'out-of-touch' BBC splurge £1k on taxi ride paid for by YOU Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE BBC splurged £484 on one taxi ride — then £481 on the return journey. Staff also took an £8,514 flight, and ran up thousands in hotel bills. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The BBC splurged £484 on one taxi ride 3 The Beeb admitted huge outlays in the past two years — funded by licence fee payers — after a Freedom of Information request. Its most expensive taxi in 2023 was from its Salford studios to Oxford — with the meter hitting £484. The employee was then taken back for £3 cheaper. Last year its priciest cab bill was £342 from Milton Keynes to London. Its most expensive flight was £8,514 for a business-class return between Heathrow and Delhi. There were also two £6,400 London-New York returns. Last year it spent nearly £14,000 for four staff to stay a fortnight at the Radisson Blu in Dakar, Senegal — at £245 per night each. It also splashed out £2,712 for seven nights at the swanky Hard Rock Hotel, near London's Marble Arch. Joanna Marchong of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Splashing out £8,000 on flights and £480 on cabs shows how out of touch the BBC has become.' The BBC said: 'We're mindful we're spending public money. We have policies in place to manage this and we always work to keep costs to a minimum.' 3 The BBC's most expensive taxi in 2023 was from its Salford studios to Oxford — with the meter hitting £484
The Irish Sun
26-04-2025
- The Irish Sun
Fury as ‘out-of-touch' BBC splurge £1k on taxi ride paid for by YOU
THE BBC splurged £484 on one taxi ride — then £481 on the return journey. Staff also took an £8,514 flight, and ran up thousands in hotel bills. 3 The BBC splurged £484 on one taxi ride 3 The Beeb admitted huge outlays in the past two years — funded by licence fee payers — after a Freedom of Information request. Its most expensive taxi in 2023 was from its Salford studios to Oxford — with the meter hitting £484. The employee was then taken back for £3 cheaper. Last year its priciest cab bill was £342 from Milton Keynes to London. READ MORE ON BBC Its most expensive flight was £8,514 for a business-class return between Heathrow and Delhi. There were also two £6,400 London-New York returns. Last year it spent nearly £14,000 for four staff to stay a fortnight at the Radisson Blu in Dakar, It also splashed out £2,712 for seven nights at the swanky Hard Rock Hotel, near London's Marble Arch. Most read in The Sun Joanna Marchong of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Splashing out £8,000 on flights and £480 on cabs shows how out of touch the BBC has become.' The BBC said: 'We're mindful we're spending public money. We have policies in place to manage this and we always work to keep costs to a minimum.' 3 The BBC's most expensive taxi in 2023 was from its Salford studios to Oxford — with the meter hitting £484 Harassers keep jobs BBC staff found to have sexually harassed colleagues have kept their jobs. The Beeb upheld five formal grievances, with another partially upheld, in three years to March 2024. Only one worker was fired. Some 39 bullying, harassment and sexual harassment claims were proven. A third found guilty — 13 — faced disciplinary action with one dismissal, a request under Freedom of Information rules found. The BBC said: 'We take all forms of bullying, harassment and misconduct incredibly seriously.'
The Sun
26-04-2025
- The Sun
Fury as ‘out-of-touch' BBC splurge £1k on taxi ride paid for by YOU
THE BBC splurged £484 on one taxi ride — then £481 on the return journey. Staff also took an £8,514 flight, and ran up thousands in hotel bills. 2 The Beeb admitted huge outlays in the past two years — funded by licence fee payers — after a Freedom of Information request. Its most expensive taxi in 2023 was from its Salford studios to Oxford — with the meter hitting £484. The employee was then taken back for £3 cheaper. Last year its priciest cab bill was £342 from Milton Keynes to London. Its most expensive flight was £8,514 for a business-class return between Heathrow and Delhi. There were also two £6,400 London-New York returns. Last year it spent nearly £14,000 for four staff to stay a fortnight at the Radisson Blu in Dakar, Senegal — at £245 per night each. It also splashed out £2,712 for seven nights at the swanky Hard Rock Hotel, near London's Marble Arch. Joanna Marchong of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Splashing out £8,000 on flights and £480 on cabs shows how out of touch the BBC has become.' The BBC said: 'We're mindful we're spending public money. We have policies in place to manage this and we always work to keep costs to a minimum.' Harassers keep jobs BBC staff found to have sexually harassed colleagues have kept their jobs. The Beeb upheld five formal grievances, with another partially upheld, in three years to March 2024. Only one worker was fired. Some 39 bullying, harassment and sexual harassment claims were proven. A third found guilty — 13 — faced disciplinary action with one dismissal, a request under Freedom of Information rules found. The BBC said: 'We take all forms of bullying, harassment and misconduct incredibly seriously.'
