Pouring money down urban drains

The Policy Exchange think tank calculates that government has spent over £30 billion on urban regeneration policy initiatives over the past ten years.

Yet over the last 10 years, and despite a doubling in funding levels, the very cities that have received these record levels of funding have fallen further behind.

Many cities in the north, says the report, have become marginalised.

The Telegraph suggests that this money has come from suburbs.

Yesterday, the leaders of councils that have had huge sums diverted from their funds to pay for urban regeneration reacted with fury.

Susan Williams, the leader of Trafford council in Manchester, said: "Middle England will not stand for it much longer."

Still, it's money for Labour councils and Labour quangos.

The government says

We will continue to improve the prosperity of these areas through the £2 billion announced last month through the comprehensive spending review.

More money from the suburbs.

The Taxpayers' Alliance has suggested that every household in Britain has £4,000 taken each year in tax and thrown away on useless projects and other waste by the Government.

This probably qualifies.

In further financial mismanagement, the Public Accounts Committee has reported that 36 completed schemes under the Highways Agency's Targeted Programme of Improvements cost some 40% more than the initial estimates. For the 67 Agency schemes still under development, estimates had increased by 27% from the initial estimates of £8,952 million to £11,410 million in July 2006. One in four schemes that should have started in 2005-2006 were delayed.

The Home Office wasted more than £29m on an asylum centre that was never built, says the National Audit Office.

And councils have been told they must cut their budgets for tackling foot-and-mouth and bluetongue this year because of a funding mistake by Defra, it has been claimed. Animal health teams are facing cuts of up to 12% because of a shortfall of more than £1 million between what councils were promised and the cash available.