The Government
I was informed earlier today that I am now more popular that the Government here in the UK. It’s not really a difficult thing to achieve considering our current circumstances, but I take pride in it. Perhaps I should explain myself a little bit more. The Department For Culture, Media and Sport set up a website last year entitled UK World Heritage, which can be found here. This website, along with 10 similar Government sites, cost over £43 million to set up, yet received only 77 visitors in the year it has been running, despite being publicised etc. My site receives many more visitors and cost me the grand sum of £0.00 to set up and create, due to the goodwill of a great many people. My site is therefore infinitely better value for money than the UK Government. Take that Mr Blair
To continue along this theme I have a list of major Government wastes, many of which could be totally avoided.
- Birmingham Council paid a man £400 to wallpaper a subway with his art. The environmental health officers came along and cleared the whole lot off merely hours after it had been put up, as they thought it was graffiti.
- Each visit to a library you make costs the library £3 in administration fees.
- Hull Council told a councillor that it would cost £50 to change a 35p lightbulb as it had to be reported, faxed and processed before 4 electricians could be sent out (to conform with health and safety regulations).
- In 2004 more than 6,000 residents of Liverpool tried to sue the council for tripping over dodgy pavements.
- More than £1.5billion has been spent on Government websites that do absolutely nothing of use.
- £196 million was spent setting up the NHS eBookings system. Only 1 in 6 doctors use it, and they have to phone through afterwards to make sure the appointment got through, rendering the entire system pointless.
- Last year the Department Of Trade And Industry spent £30,000 renaming itself the Department For Productivity, Energy and Industry. Once they realised they were now the department of PENIS they spent the same amount converting the name back again.
- The DTI spent over £5 million creating business centres which they admitted were set up “without any real understanding of what they will achieve”.
- The Goverment spent £1 billion to cut truancy rates by a third, but they went up by 20%.
- £2 million was spent on 1,500 police officers to protect a G8 meeting in Derby, but only 150 protesters turned up.
There you have it, the Government is more of a waste of money than, say, the BBC.
If you want more of this stuff then check out The Bumper Book Of Government Waste at Amazon for only £9.49.
Thank you, and don’t visit Hemel.