Friday, June 29, 2007

Taxi!

When iitcomes to answering questions in Parliament you can tell when something mildy shocking is about to be said because the relevant minister will always outline a justification first before dropping the bad bit in. A prime example was yesterday when Mark Francois asked the Treasury how much it spent on taxis last year. John Healey responded saying,
"Use of a taxi at the Treasury's expense is not an entitlement and official journeys should wherever possible be made on public transport. However, when there is no reasonable and cost-effective alternative, for example when travelling home after working late into the night, the Treasury may justify the use of a taxi."
See what I mean? Long rambling justification of expenditure on taxis and how they honestly try to avoid using them wherever possible guv, honest. I left the last sentence out though, so here it is, "[e]xpenditure in 2006-07 was 188,000". If you're wondering, that's approximately 500 quid a day on cabs, how very prudent.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

£500 a day, I wonder how many people work for the Treasury?

Anonymous said...

So commuting costs come with the rations for state employees. You sure can tell tell of these folks has ever started and run a small business where the expenses come out of the takings BEFORE you can pay yourself a bean. Not one of the nes cabimnet have the slightest experience of the real world that pays them these hansome stipends!

Anonymous said...

Leaving aside the whole 'they've never run a business....blahh de blah bollocks' [lets get some prudent non-using purely economic crack dealers in there......NOT!] I'd just like to point out that poor little working plebs like me also have to pay to get to and from my job. Bet the bastards don't even share the cabs!

Chris Paul said...

That's the price of one bottle of Bullingdon Champagne or a 20th share of the thrashing of ye humble hostelry.

Seems to me we don't know the details of this scurrilous taxisploitation. But if they're getting a couple or three hours extra out of people gratis and giving them a taxi in the dead of night I can't say I'm that upset.

Seems like good economics.

dizzy said...

What a surprise. Chris Paul enters and justifies everything the Government does.

JuliaM said...

"....if they're getting a couple or three hours extra out of people gratis and giving them a taxi in the dead of night I can't say I'm that upset..."

Hahahaha...oh, wait, were you serious?

Idiot. They'll be on overtime, or flexitime. Or they'll take it 'in lieu' another time.