Private firm Deloitte is receiving taxpayer cash to help ministers to draft parliamentary answers and media “lines to take” to defend the Test and Trace programme, HuffPost UK can reveal.
The unprecedented role for the consultancy giant is part of a series of contracts worth £323m to “support” the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the National Testing Programme run by Baroness Dido Harding’s service.
Four different contracts show that Test and Trace has been using Deloitte for “general management consultancy services” ranging from building testing capacity to stockpiling and logistics oversight.
But buried within the contracts are details of help provided with PR and communications, with a requirement to “draft and respond to parliamentary questions, Freedom of Information requests, media queries and other reactive requests” and to “support lines to take and Q&A’s in anticipation of queries”.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 10:40 am
by gilsey
Good morning.
Why can Adonis, of all people, see this but SKS can't?
Andrew Adonis
@Andrew_Adonis
The answer to local misrule isn’t national misrule. The notion that Jenrick is the answer to Liverpool’s problems is like taking arsenic for a broken leg
The licence fee, levied on households that watch live television or use the iPlayer service, subsidises the public service broadcaster and Welsh channel S4C. The charge has been increasingly seen as anachronistic, given the shift towards watching streaming services on multiple devices rather than live television, but there is no consensus on how best to replace it.
As a result, the digital, culture, media and sport select committee has suggested it is incumbent on the government to propose a new BBC funding method quickly, or commit to the existing model when it comes to issuing the broadcaster with a new decade-long Royal Charter in 2028.
“The government either needs to come out with a strong alternative to the licence fee that it can put to parliament, or strongly support the current model for at least the next charter period (2028-2038) and actively aid the BBC in driving down evasion,” they concluded.
Quite.
For all the noise made by the small but vocal Defund The BBC mob, there is never any proper suggestions as to what should replace it - but I guess that's the nature of right wing lobbying groups - be against something without doing any hard thinking of what comes after.
And for the suggestion of adverts - I doubt commercial channels would like that - the same amount of spend shared out more widely.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 12:45 pm
by RogerOThornhill
I see that Vicky Ford was doing an excellent job earlier of confirming that she like most Ministers is a shameless liar...
J
o Whitehead Blue heart
@Jo_WhiteheadUK
According to the Tory children minister Vicky Ford on #GMB,
@MarcusRashford didn’t really need do anything to help poor children eat as the gov were already on it. He supported what they were doing... The gaslighting & lies continue & astounding she can keep a straight face
8:27 AM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 1:19 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
If they were "already on it" they had a funny way of showing this, that's all I can say in response
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 1:48 pm
by citizenJA
Good afternoon, everyone.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 1:55 pm
by citizenJA
AnatolyKasparov wrote:If they were "already on it" they had a funny way of showing this, that's all I can say in response
The shameless liar is counting on short attention spans.
We're constantly bombarded with stories every day; it's difficult staying unconfused.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 1:55 pm
by AnatolyKasparov
Hopefully we will get some posts after 2PM today with you around!
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 2:01 pm
by citizenJA
gilsey wrote:Good morning.
Why can Adonis, of all people, see this but SKS can't?
Andrew Adonis
@Andrew_Adonis
The answer to local misrule isn’t national misrule. The notion that Jenrick is the answer to Liverpool’s problems is like taking arsenic for a broken leg
What Starmer will have to concede in order to keep the Labour party and everyone counting on it afloat will be a lot.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 2:47 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
RogerOThornhill wrote:Consultants Deloitte Paid To Draft Ministers’ Parliamentary Answers On Test And Trace
Given that when facing criticism of Test and Trace the response of Tory MPs is usually to mumble something about it being a great success before doing an impersonation of a phone ringing then walking off saying 'Sorry I've got to take this', it would appear Deloitte's PR consultants are every bit as good those involved in the testing and tracing.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 3:27 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
Rejoice! That paragon of sanity Desmond Swayne has just said in Parliament that 'by all measures this emergency is over'.
Thanks Desmond! I'm off out to spread this wonderful news, and in tribute to your own style I'll do this by ranting at the top of my voice in a demented manner at passers by without wearing a mask so my spit flies all over them. I can imagine their happy faces already. This is going to be great.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 4:14 pm
by RogerOThornhill
Andy Burnham
@AndyBurnhamGM
After 35 years of deregulated buses in Greater Manchester ...
35 years of rising fares and routes being cut ...
We are bringing our buses back under public control. Thumbs up
4:01 PM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 4:42 pm
by Willow904
gilsey wrote:2 things different I think.
Tory council v Labour council.
Most importantly, Northants was actually bankrupt, I've not seen any suggestion that Liverpool is.
I confess I haven't been following that closely, but on the surface it doesn't seem unreasonable to look more closely at a council that involves people who have close ties to those being investigated for corruption. Agreeing to sending commissioners in to oversee things could be the most effective way to prove there is, in fact, nothing more to see.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 9:37 pm
by gilsey
I'm not sure that there'd be any council, ever, where there was nothing to see, under close examination. Where to draw the line?
I'm sure there's no possibility that Jenrick wants a chance for his own mates to get their snouts in the trough, rather than Anderson's*.
* or whoever turns out to be the main culprit
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 9:43 pm
by refitman
gilsey wrote:I'm not sure that there'd be any council, ever, where there was nothing to see, under close examination. Where to draw the line?
I'm sure there's no possibility that Jenrick wants a chance for his own mates to get their snouts in the trough, rather than Anderson's*.
* or whoever turns out to be the main culprit
They're talking about Liverpool being taken over for 4 years!
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 9:54 pm
by gilsey
Jon Stone
@joncstone
Probably the best indication yet that Greater Manchester’s bus plan is the real deal:
Oh great. Claire Fox on QT. Do I really want to spend an hour watching a woman with an expression on her face that screams Irritable Bowl Syndrome.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 10:24 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
gilsey wrote:Probably the best indication yet that Greater Manchester’s bus plan is the real deal
God I wish the council would do the same here in Leeds. Arriva are just terrible. Dirty, noisy ancient buses that cost a fortune. I've made multiple complaints to them about the last bus from Halifax to Leeds being early or simply driving past without stopping resulting in me having to get a taxi and train to get home. If I get anything back at all it's a bland apology.
If there's one thing I'm not looking forward to doing again once this virus is under control it's getting back on their shitty buses.
Fucking Thatcher, still pissing me off from beyond the grave.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:00 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
Claire Fox immediately broadcasts her stupidity by evidently not understanding nobody is properly vaccinated unless they've had two doses.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:21 pm
by PorFavor
Took no time at all.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:24 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
Who the hell is this Welsh Tory leader? He looks like some kind of disturbing dead eyed butcher who would sell you 'pork' sausages that were actually made out of minced children.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:36 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
I must admit I'm impressed by Vaughan Gething and not for the first time.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:42 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
Aaaahh ha ha ha haaa, having the Union Jack shoved in everyone's face unifies the country. Nice one kid mincing butcher.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Thu 25 Mar, 2021 11:46 pm
by Sky'sGoneOut
Aaaah ha ha hah haaah, Brexit Party MEPs having their little flags taken away in the European parliament was an attack on our national sovereignty. Nice one Claire.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Fri 26 Mar, 2021 12:12 am
by Sky'sGoneOut
Brief QT review.
Andrew RT Davies (Conservatives) - Dead eyed butcher who makes sausages out of children. Seemed to stay deathly still when not involved as if someone had turned him off. A disturbing performance all round.
Adam Price (Plaid) - His usual earnest, decent self.
Claire Fox (Revolutionary Communist Party) - Boring. Everything she said was entirely predictable, except at the end about the little flags which was unintentionaly hilarious.
Vaughan Gething (Labour) - The national party really should try to sign this guy, he has that kind of calm unflappable confidence that makes him seem like the only adult in the room.
Nigel Owens (Rugby Ref) - What a lovely bloke.
Re: Thursday 25th March 2021
Posted: Fri 26 Mar, 2021 12:18 am
by PorFavor
Sky'sGoneOut wrote:Aaaahh ha ha ha haaa, having the Union Jack shoved in everyone's face unifies the country. Nice one kid mincing butcher.
