TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Bank bonus cap moves step closer European regulators back tougher-than-expected rules on bankers' pay despite pressure from the UK to water down the rules. bbc.co.uk |
2010 proves a bad year for wine purchasing committee Abolition of committee responsible for choosing wines for official functions will save government next to nothingThe most regularly cited example of the quangocracy gone mad is the Foreign Office's Government Hospitality Advisory Committee on the Purchase of Wines (GHACPW), which was perhaps among the easiest of the quangos to set fire to. The Cabinet Office said that the committee, responsible for choosing wines on behalf of the Foreign Office for all its official functions, would be abolished but its functions are apparently too crucial to scrap altogether and have been placed "under review".The highly symbolic move will save the government next to nothing, however. In a response to a freedom of information request last week asking how much members of the committee are paid, Robert Alexander, head of government hospitality in the protocol directorate of the Foreign Office, said: "The members and chairman of the GHACPW are not paid. They offer their advice to government hospitality at no cost, although they are entitled to claim travel expenses to attend meetings of the committee.The committee meets only four times each year for half a day. The four members of the committee are all masters of wine, and the chairman is a retired diplomat, Sir David Wright. I act as secretary to the committee. The committee was established in 1922, and has existed, in one form or another, since.""Advisory committees" feature heavily in the list of scrapped bodies. Others include the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites and the Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships, which will have some functions transferred to English Heritage.Dozens of the scrapped bodies are small advisory committees and panels.Of those, many are to be closed as an advisory committee, only to be reconstituted as a "committee of experts". A Cabinet Office spokesperson could not immediately explain the difference between the two, or what it meant in funding terms.Advisory committees on hazardous substances, packaging and pesticides will all be turned into committees of experts. The Zoos Forum will be also reconstituted as a committee of experts.QuangosPolly Curtisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Tomkins fit for England's opener England stand-off Sam Tomkins is cleared to play in Saturday's Four Nations opener against New Zealand while Darrell Goulding will make his international debut. news.bbc.co.uk |
David Cameron refuses to back down on housing benefit cap Under fire from Ed Miliband at Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron insists he will not compromise on plans to put an upper limit on housing benefit. telegraph.co.uk |
Powerful pose Can we fool ourselves and others into feeling good? bbc.co.uk |