Post by nickd on Mar 21, 2012 1:19:03 GMT 1
On Budget Day George Osborne will tell us all about another wonderfully transparent idea; - we are all going to get tax statements telling us all just how much of our cash goes on public services. Now watch the video...
Would you have guessed the right figures? Or would you have been like the man or woman who hasn't been given all the facts and thought unemployment benefit was a £3,500 hit to the pocket each year - whereas it really costs £56?
Apparently, this is what the new 'tax statements' will look like
So now you know all you need to know - or do you?
I'm a little baffled as to how the Ministry of Justice keeps telling us legal aid costs £39 per person per year, yet this treasury statement show how much you pay towards Courts and Prisons; - it's stated to be less than how much the Ministry of Justice tells us our legal aid bill costs - this is not right. The Liverpool Daily post tells us this sheet comes from the Treasury. Now how can this be right when legal aid costs just a shade over £2 billion a year; - and yet the overall justice bill for courts and prisons comes to over £9 billion? Someone isn't being very good with their maths at the Ministry of Justice or the Treasury.
But what I'd really like to know is this...
I would love to know just how much all those handshake deals costs us. Wouldn't you like to see our tax statements show how much of our cash is paid and pledged towards all these private contractors like ATOS, A4E, SERCO, CARILLION - to name just a few?
But here's something you'll never get to see on your Tax Statement
A simple statement telling you some social welfare legal aid costs you less than 50 pence a year!!
Note. How are these figures arrived at.
Government uses a head of population figure across the country to arrive at these 'expenditure' figures. That's how they get the £39 per head of population figure used by the Ministry of Justice in its illustration as to how the £2.1 billion legal aid bill costs everyone £39 per year.
The population figure used is around 60 million (there are conflicting figures but they are all close to this figure).
For social welfare benefit legal aid the cost is around £26 million a year. It works out at less than 50 pence per year because £60 million of expenditure would cost £1 per person. Welfare benefits legal aid expenditure is less than half of £60 million; so it's less than 50 pence.
The overall loss of all social welfare legal aid which will hit the advice sector is quoted by Justice for All to be a loss of £100 million (March 2012) which equates to an expense per person of around just £1.60 - a little more than 3 pence per week per person.
In the illustration used by the Treasury (above) they have quoted figures for Courts and Prisons but there is no overall explanation over what this includes. The Ministry of Justice bill of £9.1 billion includes Courts and Prisons. The figures should be explained in terms of total expenditure.
And let's not forget that unlike quite a few other elements of expenditure, for every £1 spent on social welfare benefits advice - the State is saved £8.80 according to Citizens Advice research which has not been refuted by government)
Link to Liverpool Daily post
www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/uk-world-news/2012/03/20/plans-for-personal-tax-statements-to-show-taxpayers-how-their-money-is-spent-100252-30579660/