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Quangos are sucking up more than £64bn of taxpayers' cash every year, it has been claimed.
Research has identified over 1,100 unelected bodies being funded by the Government in the UK.
They include little-known organisations such as the Potato Council - which has a £6m budget and 49 staff to help promote the root vegetable.
Pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance used freedom of information laws to obtain details of public corporations, delivery agencies, government backed investment funds, and non-ministerial departments.
However, they did not count police forces, fire services or EU agencies operating in Britain.
Altogether, the team found that as of March 2007 there were 1,162 quangos, employing 714,430 people. Their annual funding from the taxpayer came to £63.5bn - although this did not include public money being channelled indirectly through the EU.
The quangos ranged in scale from those handling just a few million to behemoths like the Housing Corporation, which had a budget of £1.64bn last year.
Gordon Brown promised a "bonfire of quangos" in 1995 when he was shadow chancellor, but critics say the organisations have continued to thrive.
There have also been claims that they often work at crossed purposes. The Food Standards Authority has been extolling the benefits of a low-fat diet while the Potato Council is running a national chip week.
The report's author, Ben Farrugia, said: "Government today tries to do too much, and consequently fails. The structure of government needs to change if we hope to see better value and significant improvements in our public services."
Altogether, the team found that as of March 2007 there were 1,162 quangos, employing 714,430 people
The British Potato Trade Association (BPTA) was created from the merger of the National Association of Seed Potato Merchants (NASPM) and the Scottish Potato Trade Association (SPTA) in July 2006. This union has resulted in an Association with the widest UK potato industry representation possible.
The bulk of the tonnage of seed potatoes traded in Great Britain for both the home and export markets (between 250,000 & 300,000 tonnes annually) is handled by the 120 members of the new Association. This gives the Association greater negotiating power on behalf of its members.
In its new report Potatoes, the market researcher valued the UK fresh potato market at £855m (c €1,255m), representing almost 60 per cent of the overall potato market in the UK.
Originally posted by 44soulslayer
A government quango is completely uncecessary for a trade alliance purpose.
The BPC was formed in 1997 because it was recognised that that there was a market failure in providing the functions that were assigned to it.
The 2000 review confirmed that the market failure still existed despite some changes in the structure of the potato market.
The 2004 economic evaluation provides a comprehensive view of the current structure of the industry and compares it to the position at the time of the last review.
This is important as it documents significant changes with supporting data to the potato industry yet proceeds to argue and prove that market failures still exist.
Since the last review, the potato market has evolved rapidly, in line with most other produce markets and become a rationalised and specialised industry with fewer players. The customer base for growers is diminished and in the hands of fewer, highly specialised companies, especially in the processed sector. The final customer, i.e. the consumer is supplied by a market dominated by major multiples.
However drawing on the further arguments in the economic evaluation report, and detailed replies to the consultation exercise it can be concluded that market failure still exists in today’s potato market.
If the BPC is abolished, there is a high probability that some of its functions will not be undertaken by any other organisation within the industry.
Originally posted by 44soulslayer
It seems to me that if British potato farmers cared about their own livelyhoods (which obviously they do), they would happily create a private sector enterprise to represent themselves.
The one-person one vote outturn indicated a majority in favour of abolition of the BPC.
The weighted (tonnage purchased) vote indicated a majority in favour of continuation of the BPC, as did the weighted (area planted) vote.
The results of this poll are similar to those in the last poll, in 2000.
Originally posted by 44soulslayer
I wonder whose fault the pensions debacle is
Originally posted by 44soulslayer
Also forgot to mention that public sector workers are undeniably more likely to vote for a Labour government.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
So Ed will be completely non-bias and fair in his advisory capacity won’t he? Ready to slap any TV company if they say take peoples money dishonestly on stupid phone votes scams?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
Anyone in UK that has had to fund government created power companies with 600-800% price increases inception will know what a fine job that the Regulators do to protect us from power company cartels and price fixing.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
Not to mention the QUANGO Hybrid (I think its referred too) the FSA! They team up with The Bank of England (Sort of like your US Fed Reserve except now that they have all the laws in place to assist Banks enslave us, ours isn’t owned privately anymore. Clever!) and the Governments Treasury.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
So when one of their ‘Own’ abuse their own system of money creation from ‘Thin Air’ then they can spot it early and obviously assist with the pre-scandal cover-up before the Government steps in to use ‘our’ cash bowered from the Bankers (at a nice return, thank you very much) to ‘bailout’ the naughty bank i.e. Norther Rock in this example.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
There was a list of the top 300 QUANGO fat-cats with number 300 earning over £150K a year, can only imagine what No.1 is getting. And, yes we’re all better off for his stirling work, whatever it is?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
What I meant is that I don’t think that Government appointed QUANGO’s and people who have directly worked for say a Prime Minister, will be fair and even handed in their regulation of such powerful, influential and dominant bodies of Media e.g. BBC, that already enjoy huge government patronage.
Originally posted by mlmijydbut no the people didn’t get their money back.
ITV has already said it expects the scandal to cost it £18. This includes the £2m cost of the Deloitte report, a £7.8m fund set up to repay viewers and the £8m it was paying out for the GMTV scandal.
From November 1, viewers who entered phone-in competitions on ITV programmes including Soapstar Superstar, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon will receive reimbursement up to £1 per call and £1.22 per text message.
More than 8 million viewers who made calls and sent text messages to the flagship programmes on speficied dates between March 2003 and August this year are entitled to refunds after the broadcaster admitted to rigging competitions.
To claim a refund, viewers need to register for a form by calling 08000 280180 or applying online at www.ITV.com/competitions. Calls to the telephone number are free.
Applicants for reimbursement will need to show proof of ownership of the telephone number, or proof of employment if the phonecall was made from work.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
Regarding the ‘Power’ companies, my point is that there should be regulation on how much these companies can increase their prices (this was the case for a number of years to soften us).
Originally posted by mlmijyd
Further to this National power should never have been given away, along with Water to name a few.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
I’m fully aware of the private nature of US Fed but are you actually saying that because The Bank of England isn’t private (anymore) that they function differently?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
Or that they are working for you and me in some benevolent way with independence from the US Fed/IMF/World Banks?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
I’d hope that you’d concede that the Nature of any Bank was to make as much money from its Debtors (the only source of its wealth) as was possible?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
NR, if the Regulators were doing their very highly paid jobs well then this wouldn’t have happen. Its not like it’s the first time government bails out big business at our expense.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
My preferred system is to dismantle via government the power that Banks have over its people. They are the only people on the face of this planet that can create money out of thin air and then charge interest on ‘Nothing’.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
I’d have given it to the vultures say the Virgin bid?
Originally posted by mlmijyd
And, the desalination that was hinted at will probably come anyway as we are heading for contrived financial meltdown anyway.
Originally posted by mlmijyd
But rest assure the Regulators will do their job won’t they?