Public Accounts Committee mice hold no one to account

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) goes through the motions of indignation about the waste of taxpayers' money on the futile project to centralise fire brigade control rooms. "A minimum of £469 million" has been "wasted". That's so far. The government is to throw a further £84.8m at trying to retrieve some value from the mess.

Meanwhile

Eight of the purpose-built regional control centres remain empty and continue to cost the taxpayer £4 million per month to maintain.

£48m a year to maintain eight empty buildings? How can this be?

The PAC calls for people to be held to account. So who does it name in its summary, conclusions and recommendations for the media to expose?

No one. Not even the ministers responsible.

The committee satisfies itself by blaming the Department. Does it expect "the Department" to offer up names?

PAC members, we pay you, so do your job. Names must be named, or there will never be any consequences. If the PAC isn't going to name names, who will?

Are you mice or men?