Latest news with #TaxPayersAlliance
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Driving examiners given mental health support to cope with furious learners
Driving examiners are being offered mental health support to cope with angry learners forced to wait months for a test. One hundred 'mental health first aiders' have been trained to help relieve the 'pressures' on staff grappling with the issues in Britain's driving test system, which has seen waiting times reach a record high. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said the initiative was a 'particularly important' resource for staff during ' this challenging period '. However, the revelations prompted backlash from campaigners, who said the taxpayer-funded agency should focus on lowering waiting times first. The TaxPayers' Alliance called for the Government to abolish the quango and contract driving tests out to the private sector. Loveday Ryder, the chief executive of the DVSA, praised the mental health project as an 'important' resource for staff under pressure. In her introduction to the DVSA's annual report, she said: 'Our commitment to colleague wellbeing was reflected in the launch of our comprehensive mental health strategy, which included training over 100 mental health first aiders across the organisation. 'This initiative has been particularly important given the pressures our colleagues have faced while working to reduce waiting times and meet customer expectations.' Nick Bitel, the DVSA's non-executive chairman, also hailed the agency's environmental achievements, pointing out that it reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent since 2017-18. However, the report went on to confirm that the DVSA had missed its 'key target' to slash waiting times for practical tests, blaming a lack of examiners and rise in demand. The average wait time stood at around 22 weeks in March, up from 16 the previous year. The report said: 'We acknowledge, with regret, that these prolonged waiting times are negatively impacting our customers. 'This area of work is our number one priority.' 'The DVSA are a disgrace' As of February, only 14 centres had waiting times at or below seven weeks, which is the DVSA's nationwide target for the end of the year. Elliot Keck, the head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'The DVSA are a disgrace and bring shame to the whole of the public sector. 'They are completely unable to deliver their core objective, yet still have the gall to boast about their achievements on reducing emissions and improving staff access to mental health services. 'Labour needs to be radical with this failing quango and at minimum should be completely clearing out senior management. Ideally they would be abolishing the body entirely and instead contracting out driving tests to the private sector.'
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Exposed: The councils quietly raising tax by more than 300pc
Voters in rural England are being hit with a 'local stealth tax' which has seen parish and town council levies quadruple overnight. Across the country, householders are facing huge increases in the amount parishes are charging because cash-strapped district councils are stopping funding services they have run for years. This means parish councils are forced to step in and provide these services, which include vital amenities such as public toilets and parks. But while the amount that districts can increase council tax is capped, there is no cap for parish councils, meaning some areas have seen eye-watering increases. In April, a total of 11 parishes increased their council tax precepts by more than 300 per cent. In Waverley, South Yorkshire, it rose from £63.47 a year in 2023-24 to £288.46 in 2024-25. The highest parish council tax increase was Wharton in Westmorland, where the precept went up by 1,783 per cent from £1.67 to £31.45. Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said councils were devolving services such as public toilets and CCTV because they could no longer afford to fund them without breaching the council tax cap. He said the government should impose a cap on parish council tax increases, just as there is for higher bodies. 'Parish precepts are set to be just the latest stealth tax squeezing household budgets, if funding pressures in local government continue,' he said. 'Most town councils are uncontroversial bodies, operating important amenities for what is a small charge on top of council tax bills. But more and more, we are seeing local taxpayers hit by extraordinary hikes in what they're charging, on top of increases at the other levels of local government. 'The government should be consulting on a referendum cap to be placed on parish precept rises to ensure residents aren't hit by surprise bills which they had no say on.' The charge made by parish and town councils – the lowest tier of local government – is added as a 'precept' onto the district's council tax bills. County and unitary councils have their bills capped at 5 per cent, while districts cannot increase their bills by more than 3 per cent. But there is no cap for parish and town councils, which provide services such as allotments, village halls, parks, litter bins and public toilets. In Somerset, cost-cutting measures have led to sharp increases in parish council precepts. Facing £35 million in budget cuts, the county council announced the devolution of services to town and parish councils. They withdrew funding for public toilets, CCTV, visitor centres and other local amenities and asked parish councils to cover the costs. Yeovil parish council precept rose 90 per cent from £145 to £276, and Taunton's by 173 per cent from £110 to £299 in 2024-25. Meanwhile, Somerset Council increased their council tax, excluding parish precept, by 4.99 per cent in 2024-25. Similar cuts were made by Wiltshire in 2019. It had to make £27 million in savings, forcing Chippenham parish council to take on services and increase its parish precept by 40 per cent. These services included a large historic park, a community and arts centre and some small play areas. The parish also took on more road sweeping duties. Chippenham was forced to institute a parish precept rise of 38 per cent in 2019-20. Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: 'The Labour Government is forcing up council tax across the board through their fiddled funding. 'Parish councils have had no compensation at all from Rachel Reeves's job tax, leading to a double whammy of soaring council tax on top. 'Labour's flawed plans for top-down unitary restructuring also threaten to lead to cost shunting from the old councils down to parish level, cooked up in Whitehall but with town and parish councils to take the blame.' A spokesman for the Wharton parish council said its increase was so high because of an administrative error the year before.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
How Lord Hermer's staff racked up a £1.2MILLION work from home bill
More than £1million has been spent on work from home equipment by government departments that report to Attorney General Lord Hermer. The Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office have spent more than £1.24million in the last three years on computers, desks and other equipment to enable remote work. Overall, agencies in eight departments have spent nearly £3million on similar equipment, despite ministers saying they want to see more people working in the office. The figures were revealed in response to parliamentary questions from a Tory MP. TaxPayers' Alliance spokesman Shimeon Lee urged ministers to 'get a grip and put the public back at the heart of public service'. He told The Sunday Telegraph: 'Taxpayers will be dismayed to know that we are still investing in a work from home culture. 'Remote working has become the norm in the public sector, with little regard for productivity, accountability or value for money.' Energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said the spending 'reflected an increased headcount to deliver additional remit for government priorities and steps to reduce its London office footprint to save money.' Other work-from-home highrollers included the Health and Safety Executive, a public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, which spent £955,099, and Ofgem, energy regulator in Labour's Net Zero department, at £396,486. Lord Hermer is a former barrister and a friend of Sir Keir Starmer. He was handed a peerage and was parachuted in to the high-profile role after the election. But some Downing Street aides are reported to be pressing for his removal as part of an autumn relaunch. He is said to be a key figure in the controversial deal to surrender the Chagos Islands, the decision to repeal laws protecting British veterans of the Northern Ireland Troubles from prosecution and the Government's refusal to help defend Israel during the conflict with Iran. Last month Lord Hermer rubbished claims of a 'two-tier' justice system in Britain as 'disgusting' and 'wrong'. Such accusations arose following last summer's riots after the Southport murders were policed more strongly and the early release of prisoners to tackle overcrowding. Lord Hermer said: 'What some people were seeking to do, bringing up 'two-tier', was to make a comparison with the way people were being treated for trying to kill police officers – and I want to reiterate that, kill police officers – with the response to protests on the streets of London. We don't have a two-tiered justice system.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Lord Hermer's departments spent £1m to help staff work from home
Government departments headed by Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, have spent more than £1m on equipment to enable their staff to work from home, figures reveal. The information, released by the Attorney General's Office in response to parliamentary questions tabled by a former Tory cabinet minister, show that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Government Legal Department (GLD), and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) spent at least £1.24m over the past three years on remote-working equipment. As a whole, government agencies linked to seven Whitehall departments have spent around £3m on monitors, desks and other equipment, despite a ministerial push for public sector workers to return to the office. Other big spenders included the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – a public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions – which spent £955,099 since 2022/23. Lord Hermer has been in charge of the legal departments since being appointed when Labour took power last July, and the figures also cover the previous two years of Tory government. Sir Stephen Timms, the social security minister, claimed the high cost of remote-working equipment 'mainly relates to provision of equipment for new starters, and HSE has increased its staff numbers in this period mainly due to becoming the building safety regulator'. Shimeon Lee, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance, told The Telegraph: 'Taxpayers will be dismayed to know that we are still investing in a work from home culture. Remote working has become the norm in the public sector, with little regard for productivity, accountability or value for money. 'While families grapple with squeezed services and sky-high taxes, officials are kitting out home offices at their expense. Ministers must get a grip and put the public back at the heart of public service.' The figures were revealed in a series of written parliamentary questions tabled by Sir John Hayes, a former Tory Cabinet minister. Sir John Hayes, the former minister who tabled the questions, told The Telegraph: 'Productivity has dipped in recent times and never recovered to its pre-Covid levels. It's probably the greatest macroeconomic challenge facing this Government. Unless it improves, it will stymie economic performance. 'The assumption that if you spend more and put more people into systems, you will get better outputs, ignores how productive they are. Remote working will further limit productivity and may make things worse. 'People work best when they are with others. The interactions between individuals inspire creativity and productivity. To deny that is to deny the fundamentals of effective working.' Whitehall has set 60pc office working minimum Last year, Whitehall chiefs agreed that 60 per cent office attendance – three days a week – was the minimum expected of staff. Many public bodies, including the CPS and Ofgem, only have a 40 per cent, or two days a week, requirement to work from an official building. Meanwhile, Ofgem, the UK's independent energy regulator, spent £396,486.26 on equipment to help staff work from home. Last year, The Telegraph revealed that the regulator was paying £3.5m a year for its luxury Canary Wharf offices despite seven out of eight of its employees working from home on a typical day. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy minister, said the total spent on working from home equipment for government departments 'reflected an increased headcount to deliver additional remit for key government priorities, and steps to reduce its London office footprint to save money'.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour quietly paves way for £174k civil servant salaries
Rachel Reeves has 'opened the floodgates' to bumper civil servant pay raises after removing the need for ministers to approve of salaries above £150,000. Under new civil service guidance issued by the Treasury, only earnings above £174,000 and bonuses more than £25,000 must be signed off, a rise from £150,000 and £17,500 respectively. The change will affect 260 civil servants who earn between £150,000 and £200,000 a year and 30 mandarins who earn more than £200,000. A further 2,915 staff earn more than £100,000 a year. William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, told The Telegraph: 'Taxpayers will be outraged that top civil servants are being handed even more generous pay raises with less oversight. 'This quiet rule change opens the floodgates to inflated salaries behind closed doors at a time when Whitehall should be making cuts. 'With the public sector already bloated and unaccountable, ministers must slam the brakes on these cosy pay arrangements and start defending the interests of taxpayers.' Pay control measures were introduced by the last Conservative government in an attempt to manage the public sector wage bill. However, the final years of the Tory government saw the size of the Civil Service balloon. The number of civil servants has increased by 21pc in the past five years, with the wage bill up by a quarter. The median salary increased by 25pc from £27,080 in 2019 to £33,980 in 2024. The Treasury defended increasing the threshold by £24,000 – equivalent to 16pc – arguing the £150,000 cap had been frozen since 2017. Impact on taxpayers However, that may prove little comfort to taxpayers. Income tax and National Insurance thresholds have remained frozen since 2021-22 with Sir Keir Starmer refusing last week to rule out extending the stealth raid until 2029-30. Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her maiden Budget last year to extend a freeze on inheritance tax thresholds until 2029-30, a threshold that has stayed the same since 2009. Conservative MP, Richard Holden, criticised increasing the Civil Service threshold, describing it as a 'grubby deal'. The shadow paymaster general told the Mail on Sunday: 'The state is far too bloated. 'They are a party in hock to public sector pay, and trying to sneak out bumper pay deals for mandarins and quangocrats by the back door shows they don't have the national interest at heart. 'A grubby deal for their public sector chums achieves nothing.' A Treasury spokesman said: 'The previous threshold for senior civil servants' salaries was set in 2017, and since then, average pay across the private and public sector has risen. 'The new, below-inflation, threshold rise would apply to a minority of senior civil servants and would be subject to rigorous scrutiny.'
