Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Macavity scrubs himself clean of spilt porridge

If ever one needed evidence of how much control freakery there is from the Treasury into other departments spending consider this little gem. If the Home Office is found to have totally screwed up (I know, it's rare!) and thus finds itself subject to making a compensation payout, it has to go cap in hand for permission from Brown to pay out anything above £20,000.

The figure, given out in a written response to Mark Francois MP yesterday by the Home Office Minister, Liam Byrne, means that when the news broke last May that prisoners were receiving masses in compensation, it wasn't actually the Home Office that authorised it.

Whilst the prisons minister, Gerry Sutcliffe for it is he, took all the flak in the press and the Home Office found itself engulfed in yet another scandal, it was actually our good friend Macavity who was to blame. As you'd expect though, when everyone looked, Macavity wasn't there.

2 comments:

Chris Paul said...

So did the answer about the compensation limit delegated to that department come in a long time ago? Or was it introduced by a fiscally prudent chancellor who was there? After THO types were splurging the crown jewels and - because it is our money - limits were introduced.

Please check.

Even if the limits have been there for a while this seems an obvious cost control measure from a Department that is stable to another that has been in difficulties since Tory times ...

What is the problem?

dizzy said...

go check yourself you lazy sod. I'm just writing what I find.