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Squander bugs rule
• HAVING been away, I missed all the furore about the £4 million VAT bill for a canteen for a school in Liverpool Road, which supposedly dictated the demolition of St Mary Magdalene School.
If the threat of such a large VAT bill loomed (perhaps because it was planned to utilise the canteen out of school hours?), it still seems extraordinary that even so large a sum as £4m affected the decision.
The £4m bill implies a pre-VAT cost of approximately £22.85m (a post-VAT total of almost £27m).
While Islingtonians may long have been accustomed to rule by an unending coalition of squander bugs (remember that cartoon figure from World War II?), we have surely reached a new pinnacle of financial lunacy to be even considering creating any kind of catering establishment in Liverpool Road at a cost of £27m, or even £23m.
But perhaps surprise at such lunacy is misplaced. A cursory inspection of the freesheets issued by Islington Council and by squander bug-in-chief Ken Livingstone shows that illiteracy is being produced at the taxpayers’ expense. Presumably, the promotion of innumeracy is the next spending priority.
PITAO
(Name and address supplied) N1
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