A small example of how Labour lost control of public expenditure

The admission by a senior civil servant that the Labour government had lost control of public expenditure in three departments shows how the example I gave in December was but part of a wider pattern:

A significant increase in the pay of some Returning Officers was quietly introduced by the then Labour government ahead of this year’s general election but no estimate was made as to what the costs would be … The government has admitted in response to a series of freedom of information requests that no trace can be found of any calculations being made as to what the change in rules would cost.

Somewhat worryingly though, this spending of extra money without knowing how much it would be took place in the Ministry of Justice, which isn’t one of the three departments said civil servant was talking about.