Yorkshire Forward was our very own unelected Quango that some wanted to see as a regional government. Accounts for 2008 show a spend of £377,900,000 or about £ 76 per person in Yorkshire ( a nifty bit of extra taxation spending). Nearly £14 million was spent on 435 directly employed staff at an average cost of £32,172 per person or about enough for 650 extra qualified nurses .
Yorkshire and Humberside represents about 8% of total UK output and has below avaregae wages. In the reorganisation of regional development agencies (RDA’s) Yorkshire forward was closed and some functions transferred to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP’s)
Your local rates bills (Council Tax) may have arrived recording an average gross spend of about £2,800 per head by your council plus more spending on your behalf by the Police, Fire Service and local precept recipients. My council tax was explained in an opaque manner and the result is ‘as clear as mud.’
Some of the above spending is provided from central government taxation and it is hard to evaluate the cost of central government per head of population without even considering the European budget. Within those two budgets are a host of mysteries and doubtless excesses. When our elected representatives can’t even manage their own expenses and our unelected quango pays itself 50% more than the average nurse how will we ever get accountability and visibility.
More investigative journalism, better media reporting and open and honest public servants would be a good start.