not surprised

[incandescens]

Recently there has been a mess-up involving a contract being awarded to a particular private train company for the West Coast Main Line (a major train route) when apparently the process for handling bids from different companies was not properly carried out. The government has made appropriate statements about full enquiries, people being held responsible, etcetera.

It would seem that there might be some sort of possible correlation between the recent government cuts to that department and the unfortunate failure to perform to standard here. At least, the Independent seems to have reason to think so.

More than 30 senior civil servants in the Department for Transport, including some with direct responsibility for franchising, were axed in the run-up to the West Coast Main Line fiasco, The Independent has learnt.

Documents show that dozens of directors in the department were "eliminated" as part of an aggressive cost-cutting programme, while another 400 more junior posts were closed.

Insiders believe that the speed and scale of the staff reductions – alongside cuts in financial consultancy spending and the introduction of a new, "fiendishly complicated" 13-year franchise agreement – led to the mistakes, which are set to cost the taxpayer more than £100m.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/did-brutal-cuts-cause-west-coast-rail-fiasco-8211008.html

I cannot say that I am surprised.

Comments

[archangelbeth]

Gosh, let's complicate things up and fire the people who might have the experience to understand what's happening! And for good measure, we'll get rid of a lot of other people as well, so there will be fewer chances for a junior person to have the ability and inspiration to step up to the task! That won't cause any problems!

[incandescens]

I am as astonished as you are that anything could possibly have gone wrong with this cunning plan.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

(Shakes head wearily.) Cut cut cut is truly *not* the answer to everything. But Conservatives everywhere seem to think it is.

[incandescens]

It's not that I particularly love Labour, but compared to the Conservatives . . .

Then again, at the moment almost anything compared to the current Conservative government . . .