A man with integrity at last!

misty34

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Govt had to act quickly to help people out. This is not the only scheme that was scammed. Shame on some people who claimed money they were not entitled too. They need naming and shaming and dealt with. I heard a lady outside in our local town centre telling her friend she had not bought food for weeks as she registered as needing help with local council and had food parcels delivered 3 times a week. She seemed to find it funny that she got something for nothing and was encouraging her friend to register. She obviously didn't need it, said she was saving a fortune. I give up!

It wasn't hindsight misty34 - we could see what was coming in January and February, it was just Johnson and his obsession with Brexit that was the problem. His government clearly had no idea how the economy works - they were told in 2016 with Operation Cygnus they needed to prepare, but chose to ignore it.

He chose to leave the doors open as part of his global Britain domination policy, allowing the Cheltenham to go ahead, and the Liverpool game.

I agree those people - or rather the businesses that claimed furlough support they were not entitled to need to be weeded out. It is bizarre and a clear sign of panic that a £multi million contract was awarded to a supplier of 'high end mobile phone cases' whilst manufacturers of PPE and medical equipment, such as ventilators were ignored.

Sunak in particular should be held accountable for the waste on the 1st failed test and trace project and app development, whilst sanctioning the purchase of useless PPE equipment through the "VIP Lane" which has been criticised in the High Court for its lack of due diligence and scrutiny.

Going after the occasional benefit cheat, or scrounger, whilst the big businesses are not paying tax, and shovelling money into offshore accounts. Or, like some MPs, doing consultancy work for the British Virgin Islands from a Westminster office.

That's fighting the wrong battle I believe.

misty34 In respect of your contention that the government had t act quickly, I need to point out the Civil Service who implements these schemes for the government employs many skilled people - just look at their recruitment process. So they had the resources to do this right. They have also been charging the public thousands of pounds a day for consultants to help with all covid initiatives - money that adds to the appalling waste by this government given the obvious fraud that exists and you yourself highlighted!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Govt had to act quickly to help people out. This is not the only scheme that was scammed. Shame on some people who claimed money they were not entitled too. They need naming and shaming and dealt with. I heard a lady outside in our local town centre telling her friend she had not bought food for weeks as she registered as needing help with local council and had food parcels delivered 3 times a week. She seemed to find it funny that she got something for nothing and was encouraging her friend to register. She obviously didn't need it, said she was saving a fortune. I give up!

Dinahmo

Some facts about UK businesses that you may or may not know.

You may recall from your school days that Britain was known as a nation of shopkeepers. We are still a nation of small businesses.

There are 5.5 million SMEs in the UK. These account for 3 out of 5 employees in the private sector and 99.9% of the business population. An SME is a company that has a turnover under £6.5 million, a balance sheet under £3.26 million and under 50 employees.

My point being that Sunak and the rest of them have absolutely no idea how this country actually works. (Nor do they have any idea how most of the country lives)

Sunak's in laws own extremely large corporations and are very wealthy. The Queen is the only woman richer than Sunak's wife.

We have had more than 10 years austerity and it looks as though we are headed for more, if Sunak gets his way. It is about time the proportion of the UK population that supports the Tories woke up to the damage that they are causing.

In case you aren't aware, I am extremely angry and have restrained myself from using stronger language.

Thanks for that information Dinahmo.
I often think that Labour should be a party that embraces SMEs because the tories always seem to leave them out. They fall between the two stools of 'workers'(even though many have their roots in 'workers' occupations and work side by side with their employees) and the large companies which really have quite different employee/management relationships and a rather different scale of revenue.

Is this a daft thought?

mumstheword86

I have no faith in our Goverment anymore i thought i could make a difference voting but never again Its just a wasted vote for liars through and through Just had my 70th Birthday and i will not vote any longer !!!!

There are more parties to vote for than just the tories, you know. Even if no other party wins in your constituency the fact that you've voted for a. n. other party and added to its vote total must give them a bit of encouragement. Well, that's always been my little consolatory thought as I've voted in election after election for 50 years and only once voted for the candidate who won...

Don't ever not vote

I have no faith in our Goverment anymore i thought i could make a difference voting but never again Its just a wasted vote for liars through and through Just had my 70th Birthday and i will not vote any longer !!!!

Holy cow! You mean Amazon was burying their returns, literally? Yet, I'm sure Bezos is always at all the world economic conferences and climate conferences. What a horrid little man!

michelleblane

I understand that this was administered by civil servants. The chancellor came up with the idea, the civil service handed out the money, and when fraud was pointed out and was going tobe investigated, the civil service decided towrite it off.......... Read Daniel Hannon's article in yesterday's Telegraph 'Our problems stem from a useless civil service, but we prefer to blame ministers'

Is that the same Daniel Hannan who assured us that "absolutely nobody is talking about threatening our place in the Single Market"?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkof9CVerrQ

I think you are right MaizieD. The plan seems to be to reduce everything that was held dear, close down all the institutions that question power and take away all protections for the weak in order to make the rich richer and the powerful more powerful.

The EU was a form of checks and balances and so had to go. Now a fog of chaos and lies is being created to confuse us whilst things are changed to our detriment.

We need to wake up to this before it is too late

Coastpath

The Civil Service are the latest in the long line of British institutions that the Tories seem eager to rubbish - the NHS, the BBC, the National Trust ....I could go on.

If anyone else was doing this they would be called unpatriotic. What's their game?

Weren't the Civil Service part of the 'swamp' that the Brexit lot were going to 'drain'?

The game is, I think, to continue the Cummings plan of completely dismantling the British state in order to rebuild something that, in Hannan's case, privileges the wealthy and keeps the rest of us working all hours for minimal reward in order to keep body and soul together.

What Cummings wants I'm not sure, but he does, I think, want to be in charge of his completely reformatted state...

Doesn't anybody ever look at the people these folks associate with and what they believe in?

The Civil Service are the latest in the long line of British institutions that the Tories seem eager to rubbish - the NHS, the BBC, the National Trust ....I could go on.

If anyone else was doing this they would be called unpatriotic. What's their game?

When I think of the HOURS of agony I spent compiling claims for the sixty-odd staff we had to furlough at various points during the lockdowns, when it seems like half the country were making it all up.....

You had to work out the average pay over the previous year, compare it to what was actually paid in the comparative month, take the higher, make sure you had paid at least that amount....it was awful. We have loads of staff with varying amounts of pay. Each had to be calculated separately.

Furlough couldn't end fast enough for me!

Yes, always liked Gordon Brown. The history books will be kind to this man. A genuine politician, the media did their best to undermine him.

Thanks Growstuff It's the ministers ideas that are put into practice by the civil servants, but the CS are not to blame - they are doing their jobs, as you stated.

growstuff

railman

Interesting point Dinahmo - "We have had more than 10 years austerity".

According to Jake Berry MP (Rossednale & Darwen) on the TV this morning, there was never an 'austerity' programme championed by George Osborne.

Beats me how the BBC's poor Annabelle Tiffin managed to keep a straight face when she heard that - the rest of us were laughing ourselves silly.

Strictly speaking, he was right. There was no austerity for those at the top of the tree. A genuine austerity programme would have affected everybody.

Hmm - so that's habit like saying the Queen lives in social housing - which of course she does.

Jake Berry is just gaslighting to protect his Lord & Master.

michelleblane

I understand that this was administered by civil servants. The chancellor came up with the idea, the civil service handed out the money, and when fraud was pointed out and was going tobe investigated, the civil service decided towrite it off.......... Read Daniel Hannon's article in yesterday's Telegraph 'Our problems stem from a useless civil service, but we prefer to blame ministers'

No, civil servants have a duty to administer what they are told to administer. Government ministers are in overall control, assuming they have the ability to understand their brief .

railman

Interesting point Dinahmo - "We have had more than 10 years austerity".

According to Jake Berry MP (Rossednale & Darwen) on the TV this morning, there was never an 'austerity' programme championed by George Osborne.

Beats me how the BBC's poor Annabelle Tiffin managed to keep a straight face when she heard that - the rest of us were laughing ourselves silly.

Strictly speaking, he was right. There was no austerity for those at the top of the tree. A genuine austerity programme would have affected everybody.

Jess20

How can a fraudulent, non- trading company get this funding when a seriously disabled person has to complete a 32 page form to get turned down for Personal Independence Payments? Beyond me ?

Because there are completely different rules for companies from those for layabouts on benefits...

The banks had no need to be careful, anyway, as it wasn't their money that they were giving away...

Jess20

How can a fraudulent, non- trading company get this funding when a seriously disabled person has to complete a 32 page form to get turned down for Personal Independence Payments? Beyond me ?

I was wondering that as well, I had to complete a very lengthy and complicated form just to get £54 a week Attendance Allowance for my mother!

How can a fraudulent, non- trading company get this funding when a seriously disabled person has to complete a 32 page form to get turned down for Personal Independence Payments? Beyond me ?

One of the challenges this country faces is the "Levelling Up" plan, and the "Towns Fund".

The Government claim funding has been allocated - but of course it's up to local authorities to "bid" for a sum of money from the pool.

A bit like throwing a few coins to starving kids in Victorian slums and leaving them to fight amongst themselves for the money.

This Government have no overall idea of regional deprivation - which by and large they cause - and no means of deciding how to prioritise the funding so that the areas that need it most get the lion's share.

Bidding for a share of a pot of money is a stupid idea

Interesting point Dinahmo - "We have had more than 10 years austerity".

According to Jake Berry MP (Rossednale & Darwen) on the TV this morning, there was never an 'austerity' programme championed by George Osborne.

Beats me how the BBC's poor Annabelle Tiffin managed to keep a straight face when she heard that - the rest of us were laughing ourselves silly.

BBLs (Bounce Back Loans) was simply a mechanism for the Government to hide its economic incompetence and keep business on side.

The last thing business needed was a lecture on the benefits of "Peppa Pig World"!

GrannyGravy13

MaizieD

According to the Guardian today Lord Agnew pointed out that loans had been made to 1,000 companies that weren't even trading... (I shall have to check that out as it's not a direct quote). If this is so then the banks which made the loans are at fault for not carrying out due diligence. Perhaps the banks should pay back the money they so carelessly handed out?

www.pressreader.com/uk/the-guardian-e-paper-journal/20220128/281496459673302

Absolutely MaizieD if this is true, it is the banks that are at fault.

Yes - if only there was a way of regulating the banks!

This is all part of the gaslighting of the electorate, blaming the civil service, the invisible 'blob', the ones that Gove and Cummings want to get rid of. Daniel Hannan is a strong Brexiteer, anti civil service, and writes for the Telegraph. These few facts are enough to make most people sceptical. Ministers have responsibility, end of.