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"Not the Comfy Chair!"

Cambridge City Council spent £543.20 each for two plush chairs for its CCTV staff.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This is a ridiculous and excessive expense that is simply unnecessary.  Yes, monitoring CCTV cameras involves sitting down all day, but so do most other jobs and no other office workers need such expensive chairs.  The council have got to realise that local taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet in the recession, and that means the people spending taxpayers' money must be more careful with it. Luxuries like this in council offices should be a thing of the past."

Surveillance staff may, to some, be the equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition, but this takes Monty Python too far.

See http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=437059

Colorado and Economic Recovery

While in Colorado for a friend's wedding, I passed two major roads being widened with signs saying that the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" was responsible for the new infrastructure.  The Act was passed this year.  The road improvements are being built now.  What a contrast to the often promised but not delivered upgrading of the A14.

Before the knee-jerk anti-Americans reach for their pens at this observation, Colorado is submitting a plan for a high speed rail project too.

Richard Normington

Government spends 52% more on News and PR

From today's Guardian comes the story that the government's 'Spend on "news and PR" grew by 52% year on year from £26.9m to £40.9m.' 

And some people thought the priority would be 'education, education, education'.

Why wait six months for training?

Individuals on Job Seeker's Allowance should be allowed to volunteer immediately for retraining instead of being made to wait six months. With record unemployment figures coming out, people need help, not delays. 

Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia

I have just returned from a three-country tour promoting British financial, insurance, accounting and legal services.  It is wonderful to be back in time for Green Britain Day, with the great blue sky, but the first-hand experience of helping British companies compete with world-class rivals was a great one.  There are a lot of countries looking to Cambridge for inspiration and for investment.    One vital element in a successful financial services sector is a trained workforce.   Education and training are some of our country’s great exports.  A British qualification is an esteemed sign of success, and the English language remains a passport for prosperity.  Cambridge can offer both. We also found a lot of interest in how cities are planned and services are provided.  When one Malaysian complained bitterly that his council ignored its own planning guidelines, I could tell him I know exactly how he felt about it! Richard Normington

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