Amateur hour

The Accounts Commission, which is the spending Watchdog for the public sector, tells us that local authorities need to change frontline spending if they are going to continue to provide essential services.

The watchdog, however, does not tell us what to do, and certainly does not make any mention of the waste, excess. inefficiency, and poor quality management that pervades the whole of the public sector.

On a like for like basis, salaries in the public sector are 10 per cent higher than in the private sector; for pensions, employees in the public sector pay between 6 and 14 per cent of salary –less tax – while the tax payer pays 32 per cent, which rises to 40 per cent for the police. Public sector employees should be paying at least 20 per cent of salary.

Sick pay in the public sector is double the level of that in the private sector. Why?

Edinburgh Council inform us that they have 16 layers of management, and are “releasing” 1,250 staff. If this figure can be replicated across the 32 local authorities it could amount to 16,000 non jobs – ie jobs not required.

Local authorities are big business – £17 billion per annum – and they are run by amateurs, ie councillors. They should be run by professional managers.

JAMES MACINTYRE Clarendon Road, Linlithgow