It is only taxpayer's money

I liked the story about Equality and Human Rights Commission and their unauthorized consultancy payments to former members just after they were made redundant.

From today's FT


"Auditors refused to approve accounts of six public bodies, citing poor governance, unauthorised expenditure and a £155m loss of equipment.

In a rare move, questions were raised over the Treasury’s accounts after officials exceeded parliamentary spending limits by setting aside £25bn for potential losses from the bail-out of toxic banks. The Treasury said the decision was “technical” and unrelated to the estimated costs of measures to support the banks, which they estimate to total up to £50bn.

The accounts of the Ministry of Defence, Revenue & Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Home Office also failed to satisfy the auditors.

But some of the most severe criticism was directed at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The public body, run by Trevor Phillips, made £323,708 of unauthorised consultancy payments to seven former members, just weeks after awarding generous redundancy packages."