£22 for a 65p light bulb ... no wonder Labour left us broke

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12643966

The Ministry of Defence has admitted it has been paying £22 for a light bulb worth 65p.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox described it as "inexcusable" and evidence of a waste of taxpayers' money by the previous Labour government.

That's right folks, under the previous administration the MoD was allowed to sign procurement contracts under which suppliers can invoice £22 for a light bulb that you or I could pick up in Asda for under a quid. Screws worth £2.50? That'll be £103 to you sir.

[Kymmy]

I know that some prices are increased due to the MOD's need for safety analysis.. but those prices are ridiculous..

Probably not though entirely the MOD's faut but also collusion with the suppliers all putting in ridiculous tenders..

It's a shame that MOD has moved so much stuff to external contractors/suppliers

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Chris

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12643966




That's right folks, under the previous administration the MoD was allowed to sign procurement contracts under which suppliers can invoice £22 for a light bulb that you or I could pick up in Asda for under a quid. Screws worth £2.50? That'll be £103 to you sir.

You forgot something:

KERCHING!!!!

[mentalis]

Does the 22 squid also include fitting? How many people does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

[Hom3r]

3 one to stand on top of the ladder, and 2 to hold the ladder and run around in a cirlce until the bulb is in.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Oh and you forgot the ladder safety course and supervisor that everyone will have to have been accredited with before they can even assess that the bulb needed changing

[Gary L]

Who's to say they didn't call an electrician in to fit it at £70 + VAT

[Osem]

This goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. A couple of hours ago I heard on Radio 5 news that the MOD was disputing this whole bulb thing and claiming that the item was in fact a highly specialised 'bulb' for some sort of radar unit somewhere - hence the high cost.

All very reasonable,...... until a few minutes ago as now Radio 5 are claiming that this 'explanation' has been retracted by the MOD and that the item in question was in fact an ordinary 100w lightbulb...

Are these people really running the show???...

[berkut]

I have been reading comments on this most of the day and here is my tuppence worth.

This sort of crap has been going on for years. I worked in the civil service (R.N.S.T.S.) from 1984 until I left in 1995. I witnessed this sort of thing going on first hand.

And in case any of you cannot remember that far back the government of choice at that time was not Labour.

There is an endemic issue in *ALL* civil service departments and agencies where no-one gives a damn about value for money and this is backed up by the procurement processes that are in place in all government departments.

Not only have I witnessed this in the M.O.D. but also in other government agencies that I have had the misfortune to have dealings with since.

The blame should sit squarely on the shoulders of the people who decided that all government departments use centralised tendering for procurement. Some blame needs to be shared between the people that sign the contracts and the companies that are blatantly profiteering on government contracts.

Need to stop now..... feeling full blown rant mode coming on.....



Berkut

The civil service is supposed to be under political control. If their procurement processes are out of control, then ultimately they are out of the control of the government of the day.

The fact that something has always been a certain way does not exonerate those that allow it to continue. Whatever the government-before-last may have done is by the by ... The Labour Party had 13 years to take ownership of the problem and show the leadership required to fix it, and they not only failed, they sat and watched the MOD's reputation for dodgy procurement practices slip further and further into the mire.

More cock ups by the MOD

now they're into book burning