public spending

5 articles

Jan 7, 2026 • via the Guardian

Taxpayers Locked into £104m for Unusable Dartmoor Prison

MoJ's 2022 lease on radon-choked Dartmoor prison closes in 2024, committing £100m+ waste until 2033

Ministry of Justice leased a toxic prison in panic, ignoring known radon risks. Taxpayers bear £104m costs for an unusable site amid chronic overcrowding and zero accountability.

Dec 22, 2025 • via BBC News

Bradford traders watch £51 million culture year pass without sales bump

£15m government grant yields footfall gains but no high street windfall

Bradford's £51m UK City of Culture drew three million but left local businesses reporting flat trade. Public funds fuelled events and hype, yet economic legacy metrics stay vague amid recurring national patterns.

Dec 19, 2025 • via The Standard

Ten Weaknesses Enable Six-Year Fraud at Tower Hamlets

Auditors flag procurement gaps despite dismissal and police probe

Tower Hamlets council dismisses a fraud suspect from 2018 schemes, but EY auditors decry probe shortfalls and list ten control failures in procurement. Taxpayer losses mount amid deflections to 'legacy' issues.

Dec 9, 2025 • via the Guardian

£2.3 Billion Funds Distant School Taxis

Councils blame names and Covid for SEND transport surge

England's £2.3bn annual school transport bill exposes absent local SEND provision, with councils proposing semantic fixes over capacity building. Taxpayers fund isolation taxis amid cross-party planning failures.

Nov 19, 2025 • via The Spectator

Asylum's £266,000 Illusion Crumbles on Data

A pro-reform report's rosy projections ignore low employment rates and lifetime fiscal drags

Analysis debunks a coalition report claiming £266,000 economic gains per refugee, exposing flawed assumptions and potential billions in added costs amid UK's strained public finances.