My thanks to a loyal reader who prodded me to take a look at Lin Homer's time in the Department for Transport.
Can you guess who was in charge of the DfT when it was described as being "not fit for purpose"?
Yes, that's right, Lin Homer!
As per the Express from October 2012:
"ONE of the key figures in the Department for Transport’s West Coast main line fiasco was the former boss of the UK Border Agency when it itself was described as “not fit for purpose”.As per the Transport Committee - Eighth Report Cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition (published 23 January 2013):
Millionaire mandarin Lin Homer was the Permanent Secretary at the DfT throughout 2011 when details of the new rail franchise business model were being thrashed out.
She was named by Sir Richard Branson last month as one of a handful of officials at the department whom his Virgin Rail team met during 2011 to voice concerns over the bid process.
Those concerns were ignored, said the rail boss whose warnings proved correct last week when the Government U-turned on its decision to award the lucrative franchise to his rival First Group due to an alleged catastrophic business model error.
The mistake is estimated to cost taxpayers £100million and the DfT has now been labelled “not fit for purpose”.
"A more direct description of what happened [than that provided by Laidlaw] is that ministers and senior officials were lied to about how the outcome of the franchise competition had been reached. A major unanswered question is why ministers and senior officials were misled about how the SLFs had been calculated, the issue which led directly to the cancellation of the franchise competition. We recommend that the Department explain why this happened, if necessary after decisions have been reached on whether or not to take disciplinary action against particular members of staff. (Paragraph 26)
3. In our view, we cannot categorically rule out the possibility that officials manipulated the outcome of the competition not only to keep First Group in the running for as long as possible, as Mr Laidlaw suggested, but to ensure that First got the contract. We recommend that the DfT find a way of undertaking a full email capture, reporting to someone suitably independent, to help get to the bottom of why DfT staff discriminated against Virgin and in favour of First Group during the ICWC franchise competition. (Paragraph 28)"
Therefore to repeat my question asked this morning:
Why the fark was this useless woman appointed in the first place???????
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Don't people check C.V.'s and where vetting is involved then even a basic background check would have raised questions surely?
ReplyDeleteThis individuals suitability for high office is non-existent, the system must be changed, and as for claiming salary and bonus she should be paying it back!
Never mind the top, HMRC is rotten to the core. There will be many managers waking up to the realisation that all those laws they have broken with such disdain are about to come back and haunt them.
ReplyDeleteH&S, Duty of Care, Equality Act never mind basic employment law, the responsibility falls on all those line managers who have kowtowed for so long.
Wonder what an opportunity for the staff to report openly without fear of repurcussions would unveil?
Imagine for just a millesecond if you will, Homer flies out of the revolving door into a recently vacated high profile public sector position such as Health or Energy.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean thet could never happen? Look at her track record, that should dispel any doubts.
Then, who do you put in charge of the useless edifice that is HMRC?
What about an achiever with a proven track record of success and who is capable of leading and driving forward a failed organisation?
No, I don't know anyone but the last 5 have been utterly useless. Perhaps all those critics of Gordon Brown's Stalinit zeal were correct and the resultant mutation is simply too big. Mmm, what about chopping it up into manageable pieces with some of it privatised under strict performance guarantees and the provision of taxpayer service at accessible face to face locations that are of benefit to the taxpayers.
Oh yes and while you are sorting out the crap, stop referring to taxpayers as customers!
Take an analogy from nature.
ReplyDeleteThe Queen is mortally wounded and therefore the hive is doomed in its current form, despite anything that the workers do things can never be the same despite the hives "common purpose"!
Predators of all forms sense the demise of the colony and scramble to seize the parts worth saving. Larvae are distributed amongst other public sector hives although a lot are lost in the process to the early retirement virus that pervades the public sector.
H(M)oney is rapidly seized by the aggressive treasury drones under the fog of obfucation pumped out by the keeper "Goke", a strange beast that inhabits the tunnels of power.
Then along comes the gooney bird which takes up all the whiteboards to feather its nest in these lean times.
LOFL! Enjoy a laugh for a change.