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It doesn't get any worse than losing the personal records of up to 25m people does it? This government is in a shambles...
It doesn't get any worse than losing the personal records of up to 25m people does it? This government is in a shambles.
How can it possibly contemplate introducing ID cards after Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) admitted losing two CD disks containing the personal records of 7.25 million families claiming child benefit, including individuals' dates of birth, addresses, bank accounts and national insurance numbers. The offending disks had been lost in the post and, as a result, there is the threat of mass identity fraud and theft from personal bank accounts.
Let's not get into who was to blame or whose heads need to roll besides Paul Grey, chairman of HMRC. Let's consider the wider question. Just how far we have left behind us the idea of people going into politics for that quaint reason, to serve the public. Notions of the greater good and 'putting something back' now seem absurdly idealistic, such is the pervasiveness of cynicism in our politics and politicians.
How safe is information held by the Government, its agencies and indeed outside organisations? The answer has to be not really. In this instance, a junior employee disregarded clearly laid down policy procedures and set into motion the latest Government crisis. If that can happen so easily, affecting nearly half the UK population, what are the chances of something similar happening through the actions of a disgruntled employee?
Insiders within the Government quietly acknowledge that the introduction of ID cards is now dead in the water.
What has all this got to do with the fleet industry? Quite a lot actually. You know my position regarding national road charging. Imagine the chaos if the Government tried introducing that with all the inherent technology if it cannot even get the simple transfer of key personal data right!
I often think that our friends down in Swansea at DVLA should be put in charge of government IT. They don't seem to do a bad job of tracking road tax dodgers. Maybe they should be advising other government departments and agencies on how to get the job done. Perhaps they could start with controlling immigration - but then again motorists are a much easier target! Meanwhile, my sympathies go out to all those with children under 16, claiming child benefit. I'm one and, yes, I will be scrutinising my bank and credit card statements closely. Government, Whitehall and its respective agencies have a lot to answer for.
The level of incompetence of this Government has now reached heights that even in its darkest hour it never thought possible and yet Government feels an apology is okay. Surely the time has come for these idiots to take some responsibility for their actions or more to the point their in-actions? This country is 'going to hell on a bogey' led head-first by an un-elected Prime Minister who's 10-year-track record as Chancellor will, in time, I believe be recognised as the most damaging in living memory. What he has done to our pension funds marks him out as no better than Robert Maxwell!
Gordon Brown's predecessor, Blair, in his resignation speech told us that "he may have made some mistakes, but he always did what he believed was right!" They need to wake up and smell the coffee. Industry and commerce is littered with ex-chief executives who made mistakes despite the fact that they believed they were doing the right thing at the time!
I know I sound like a grumpy old man - but am I wrong?
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