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10 Jul 2010
The government has launched another web site aimed at gathering ideas to contribute to forthcoming policy, this time on spending cuts.
The Spending Challenge site follows the same format as the government's previous foray into crowdsourcing with its Your Freedom site launched to help citizens voice their opinions on restoring civil liberties, repealing unnecessary laws and doing away with excessive business regulation.
"The Spending Challenge is your chance to help shape the way government works," reads a statement on the site.
"We need to reduce the deficit by cutting public spending in a way that is fair and responsible - and you can help."
People can rate and create ideas on how to reduce the deficit, and the site is split into 'latest ideas', 'highest rated' and 'ideas with most comments'.
Visitors can also navigate the site by clicking on one of the tags on the right hand site of the home page.
"It could be something small that is quick and easy to put into action, or a more radical change to where and how government works. Either way, please be as specific as you can," the statement continues.
"If you see ideas here already that you like the look of, then rate them and get them moved up the list. And if there's more you'd like to say, then talk to others in the comments section."
The best ideas will be used by the government in its upcoming Spending Review, the conclusions of which will be published on 20 October.
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Do you agree?
Spening cuts
Child Allowence should be stopped altogether - it was introduced after WW11 to encourage people to have children now we need to discourage them. A new system should be developed to help the genuine people who need help and do not abuse the system.
Posted by: Sheila Fraser 11 Nov 2010
Heating Allowence
Heating allowence should be only given to the people who need it. A system similar to the one to be used for Child Benefit could be used issuing payment to those household who earn less than £50 a year. The celebraties, millionaires, Bankers, M.P's. etc over the age of 60 get this allowence now that is were savings can start.
Posted by: Sheila Fraser 11 Nov 2010
Single Mums
Except for the very few deserving cases, ex. widows, If you have children YOU should look after them don't have them if you can't keep them. There are too many who say they do not know who the father is yet the father is living with them (until they are up for investigation when he moves out for a few hours) I know of one that can afford a Holiday Home, fly to Disney world with the whole family including (the missing Dad) run two cars, and go away for three weeks at Christmas. She has never worked a day in her life. What example is that to the hard working honest people of this country?
Posted by: Sheila Fraser 11 Nov 2010
spending cut
i think the goverment would save plenty of money if the politicians money was cut they make much more money than other workers but other workers have the pay there bills of there wages the politicians get expensise for theres why cant they pay there bill like other workers have to do they get pleanty money to do so cut out the govements expenses and save a fourtune becase everone will suffer but the goverment as usuall
Posted by: linda 20 Oct 2010
Family allowance
The anomoly of one partener earning above £44K can be overcome by allowing the employer of an earner receiving say £80K pa to pay unemployed partener £40K so that neither fall into the +£44K bracket and so loose child benefit.Any employer worth his salt realises the importance of the partener to his employee!. To raise more money & attack bankers raise the council tax bands.It is surely immoral for a £10million property to pay the same tax as a £320K property! The owner of a £50K house pays approximately 2% property tax, the £10million property approximately 0.026% tax. How many MPs & lords live in properties below £320K? As an octaenarian I know too wel that turkies don@t vote for christmas!!!
Posted by: John H. Taylor 06 Oct 2010
The Benafit Society.
After paying close attention to the proposed spending cuts that are to be made in the UK, cuts that will mostly effect the "working man" I have come up with a solution. Not to the whole debt crisis but to the structure of the benafit system. That is what needs the reform, not the MOD which in my opinion is manned by commited, dedicated and hard working men and women. Instead of giving these millions of people cash each week to do with what they please, rather run a type of "Oyster Card" system. So each person on benafits carries a card that is usable at all the big stores andmost of the little ones. This card would only be redeemable for essential items like food, clothes, toiletries etc. It would not however be used for alcohol, drugs or cigerettes. By implementing this system it would keep the people looked after but also encourage them to go out and work. As a 25yr old man with a full time job, with a partner who also works full time, I can not afford to drink, smoke or go out on the town. Why should people who refuse to work be better off than the rest of society.
Posted by: Sheldon 01 Oct 2010
1 More tax on NHS 'drains'/2 Fewer Uni students
1 Levy considerably more tax on alcohol, cigarettes and confectionery, ie those things which potentially drain NHS resources, and ring fence some or all of the money to go directly to the NHS. 2 Scrap the crazy New Labour idea that 50% of young peole should go to Uni, and return to the old situation where the most able and suitable go, and a degree actually means something to employers.
Posted by: Wawa 16 Sep 2010
Mums to be
Stop the one off payment given to single mums on benefits to buy baby equipment. If someone is assessed to be in real need then a social worker could arrange for second hand equipment to be purchased. I worked with teenage parents and they are able to buy the best prams etc new, it is not a necessary and may help to deter if they are not sure how they are going to provide.
Posted by: anonimous 14 Sep 2010
No entitlement to everything free.
Everyone who are entitled to free perscriptions, to pay £1 each. This would stop a big waste of unused drugs etc. All free Bus travel to be £1, each journey. All free eye tests to be £1.
Posted by: Dorothy Pheasby 13 Sep 2010
benefits
Unless you have paid into the system for 5 years, you do not get any benefits. This would take the incentive away for all imigrants.One, recently interviewed at Sangan, was asked why the U.K. His reply, I get a house and then I get a wife! It would also apply to school leavers who live in a benefit culture to either get a job or stay at college. Also restrict child benefit to 3 children.
Posted by: Lynne 13 Sep 2010
spending cuts - suggestions
I worked in the police for 30 years and receive a pension. Persons who are injured at work ( including stress etc) often used to retire early and receive an enhanced pension. I assume that the enhancement is because they have less ability to earn because of the disability. I fail to see why this is continued to be paid past their 65th birthday. As they are 65 years old they would not need the enhancement
Posted by: John Kemp 12 Sep 2010
Sure Start
Get rid of under used Sure start projects - save money on those buildings which are empty and unused most of the week and on staff who obviously have nothing to do whilst in empty buildings, Redirect that money back into mainstream education, so that more children can benefit with better up to date resources and Reading books.
Posted by: Lilias 11 Sep 2010
road tax
Add a few pence per litre on fuel,get rid off the beaurocracy to administer the system.
Posted by: Ernest Massarella. 10 Sep 2010
Savings on NHS costs
I have to attend a Warfarin Clinic and my results are sent by post which must cost an enormous amount seeing how high the postal costs are now, why can't we have them e- mailed? I would guess that well over 50% of these patients are on line, I shall be 77 in November and most of my friends are on-line.
Posted by: Mrs.A.A.Batten 10 Sep 2010
Winter Fuel Allowance
Stop the £300 winter fuel allowance being paid to ex pats who live abroad in Spain and France. It is for cash strapped Pensioners living in the UK. I know of pensioners who have 2 or 3 properties and boast that they still get the allowance. It is disgraceful.
Posted by: Shropshire Lass 08 Sep 2010
Nurses uniforms
I am an ambulance worker in Northern Ireland and our organisation is province wide. Staff wear a blue shirt officers a white one. I travel around all hospitals in Northern Ireland and the number of differant styles and colours of nursing uniform is staggering, surely it would be cheaper to have a standard colour and style for ancillary, staff nurse and nursing managers. Multiply this across the U.K. and I feel the savings would be signifcant.
Posted by: Robert Rowley 31 Aug 2010
Save £45 million a day
GET US OUT OF THE EU. We would save £45 million a day if we stopped paying into Europe, just think what that money could be spent on. Help pay off Labour's massive dept. Build new schools. Put more police back onto the street's. Put more money into the NHS. Another way to save money is to stop paying any benefits to immigrants who have not been in full time employment ( continuously ) for 10 years, also put a cap on all benefits of £15,000 a year, that would get people back to work. This government will not do anything to upset our masters in the EU and it will not stop people coming here from all over the world to scrounge off our system. We do not have anybody with the balls to do anything about the above suggestions.Bring back somebody like Churchill or Thatcher they would not have let the world walk all over us. Thank you.
Posted by: Bernard Taylor 31 Aug 2010
save money
Anyone committing a crime, including trespass, loses their normal human rights, therefore they cannot sue anyone. No television, playstations, or the like in prisons. Use sniffer dogs to make sure drugs do not get into prisons, I imagine staff are being threatened and by so being they take the drugs in. Do not pay child benefit for any child not living in the uk. Child benefit should be for the first two children only. With modern technology it should be made possible to have a thumb print check before money is collected from a post office, of course this would mean stopping money being paid directly into a bank account, which is obviously not being checked sufficiently. This would also help keep post offices open and help maitain jobs.
Posted by: Geof Bax 31 Aug 2010
Licensing Act 2003
Remove requirement for village halls to register for alcohol licenses for local one off events. How many such requests have ever been refused? will save money for local authorities and the police who both have to approve each application. It costs hard strapped local groups £21 each time - and for what benefit? To whom?
Posted by: B C West 31 Aug 2010
Help the taxpayer
Get rid of all perks for prisoners e.g. ,no pool tables,playstations etc.make them pay for their stay in prison ,bring slopping out back and 1hr a day daylight only turn the heating off maybe then theyll realise how the rest of us feel,or alternatively bring hanging back and get rid of the scum i.e huntley,sutcliffe, west etc,that would save us 50 grand each minimum to keep em.
Posted by: kelly 22 Aug 2010
Work & Benefits
Why can't we introduce a system were you have a credit card style system that your benefits are credited on and can be spent on utilities, food, clothing and essentials. These cards would be accepted by high street stores however, could not be used for alcohol or tobaco. This would ensure that the tax payer was not paying for individuals to spend benefits on such items and the family would benefit as tax payers money would not be wasted to the detriment of the most at risk. This would encourage some individuals to find work topay for their habits and so help society and save money.
Posted by: John 19 Aug 2010
Foreign Student Ripoffs.
A Pakistani friend of mine told me about the following scam. Foreign students are signing up for more than one course. They then open accounts in different banks. If successful, they get two or more student grants. They then leave the loans in the extra bank accounts to earn interest while they live off one of them. When the time comes for them to return home, they close the surplus accounts. They then have the loans plus interest to take back with them. My friend told me they can amount to quite a large sum. Needless to say, the money never gets paid back, and they are having a laugh at our expense. Another scam, is where the heads of language schools in this country go back home, and bribe the students over there to come over here. I cannot give any names but from the way my friend was telling me this I think it is true. I tried telling various authorities but with no detailed information there is nothing for them to go on. Surely there is some way that the government can check these applications for more than one course and put a stop to it?
Posted by: Mary 15 Aug 2010
Drastic Cuts
Stop all child credits and replace with a free school meal for every child up to primary age (to include a milk drink). Also the child allowance should be for the first child only. Stop the attendance allowance and replace with home helps etc. if necessary (providing some jobs). Replace the abused motability cars with scooter type vehicles and a few taxi concessions/bus etc. - much cheaper than providing cars for the whole family to use and usually not required. Enforce a ceiling salary level for public sector workers. Halt drug users being issued with methadone as it hardly ever works. Make jail a place to be feared as in no physical contact with the public, very very basic meals, no TV or other electronic equipment, hard labour only. These methods would save money and if prison was a place nobody wanted to return to there would be no need to build more prisons.
Posted by: J Young 13 Aug 2010
savings in the forrestry commission
cut the forest raanger staff. lease the district deer cull to D.M.Q holders. why should the tax payer pay for deer control when people will pay to do it.
Posted by: Stuart Downie 31 Jul 2010
Low Flying Aircraft
It is time that more stringent controls were introduced to control the Low Flying Aircraft exercises carried out in this Countyr. The worst areas are aareas of oustanding beauty and holiday destination - Lake District, Norfolk Broads, Northumberland, Wales etc. There is no need for them to sread over the country. Let them be restricted to over the sea and the virtually uninhabited North of Scotland. has anyone actually published the figure showing the maintenance for even ONE of these aircraft?
Posted by: Alan Dick. 22 Jul 2010
Suggested Cuts - Overseas Aid
If we must spend our hard earned money on overseas aid - be realistic. Stop all aid for three years, during this time decide where aid is really needed and stop sending it to countries that have nuclear weapons projects - space projects - provide guns for internal fighting of its own citizens - buy the 'top people' Mercedes - allow the 'top people' to salt it away in Swiss Bank accounts. Don't provide money, provide goods, projects and people to make sure what we are doing is useful. Whilst this country has enormous debts how can you rationalize borrowing money to give it away whilst our country is hurting and people are losing their jobs, their income and their homes and whilst people who have paid their taxes and led responsible lives are refused drugs when they need them on the grounds that they are too expensive. If I had large debts would it be sensible for me to get further into debt by taking out loans just to enable me to give the money away ? I don't think the bank manager would play ball - do you ?
Posted by: Maurice & Eileen Griffiths 14 Jul 2010
bring in more tax plus harmony
tax supermarket beer, bring down pub prices,stop smoking ban(seperate room if you like) lets get some comunity spirit back first, you will get more tax revenue from this(i dont drink)stop this not paying morgage through benifits, ifs its below rents kicking people out costs the taxpayer money,(i work) the list goes on !!!!
Posted by: john 11 Jul 2010