In his pre-budget report, Gordon Brown announced a crackdown on public sector absenteeism. Research shows that public sector workers take on average ten days off sick a year, costing ?6 billion annually, while employees in the private sector only go ill for seven days each year. Perhaps Brown will be taking up the issue with his neighbour. An analysis by Campaign Information found that while the Chancellor has managed to vote in 22 per cent of Commons divisions since last year's election, the prime minister has only managed 5 per cent.
Recent television programmes and newspaper stories have created the impression that half of us seem to live next to the neighbours from hell. In the suburbs they grow sun-obscuring flowers, in the inner cities they make excessive noise through the thin walls of council flats. Except that recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds that only one in 25 of us has neighbour problems.
Expect the next set of crime statistics for Leicestershire police to show a marked improvement in their clear-up rate. A man convicted of burglary at Leicester Crown Court has just asked for 699 other offences to be taken into consideration. The copper who got him to confess to that lot surely deserves a medal.
Seven per cent of housing benefit claims are fraudulent, costing ?700m a year, according to the Department of Social Security. But how do they know that? Thanks to the National Housing Benefit Accuracy Review, which reassesses a sample of cases. Except that the Review honestly admits that its classification may be incorrect and could introduce errors. So obviously what we need is an accuracy review of the accuracy review, and then we'll need...
The Guardian recently made a song and dance about a poll which found a slim majority of people saying that being openly gay is compatible with holding a cabinet post. But turn it around and you can see why politicians such as Nick Brown keep quiet about their gayness -36 per cent of people think that homosexuality is morally unacceptable.
Compiled by Martin Rosenbaum (fax: 0181 566 8339)
