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Were cuts responsible for the West Coast mainline cock up?

October 15, 2012 2:05 pm

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As ministers try and worm out of responsibility for the West Coast franchise cock up today, it’s worth noting that, as the Independent reported this morning:

“More than 30 senior civil servants in the Department for Transport, including some with direct responsibility for franchising, were axed in the run-up to the West Coast Main Line fiasco.”

Along with cuts to tax collecters, this must surely go down as one of the more self defeating cuts that this incompetent “shower” of a government have implemented.

This West Coast mess has cost the government £100 million…

Dave Postles

We’ll see. Often the consequence of expedited cuts is that they undermine the efficiency of the service because they are contingent and unplanned. It’s not just at the centre. The same happens in local government when the government introduces an immediate cliff. It is impossible to structure the posts for the least damage. The whole point of medium-term fiscal retrenchment is to allow rational reorganization.

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