Published: Guardian Letters, 14 September 2010
Sir,
Who could argue with George Osborne's desire to get the public to suggest painless ways of saving money and increasing efficiency? Who could blame the BBC – in its new, government-friendly mode – for promoting his big idea in its interview with the chancellor?
The trouble is, the big idea for selling off government surplus equipment has actually been operating for 17 years – and most effectively for the last nine (including online). The Ministry of Defence has several contractors, one of whom has a turnover of £10m a year from the sale of such surplus. This newspaper worked with me when I was education secretary to establish an imaginative refurbishment scheme for used computers, which were then made available – prior to the big investment in new technology – to schools in the most deprived areas of Britain. Can we now presume we are going to get more of this re-running of what already exists?
Rt Hon DAVID BLUNKETT MP (Lab, Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Comments