David's Digest

I did not start blogging simply to criticise DEFRA, even though it might seem like I did. But when a government department makes as many mistakes as they do its difficult not to have a go at them.

This latest own goal concerns the accommodation chosen by DEFRA personnel when they came to Norfolk to supervise the recent outbreak of bird flu. It has been reported and not denied that they booked themselves in to a stately home hotel whose room rates are £185 for bed and breakfast and £310 per day for full board. Not only that but the hotel was in Suffolk, 22 miles from the outbreak, so it wasn't exactly the closest they could have found.

In the same week it was revealed that DEFRA is being forced to cut its budget by £270million because of over spending its a bit rich, don't you think? Do they ever learn? Do they care about public opinion? The answers must be - no they don't, so long as they live high on the hog on money intended to improve the hard pressed rural economy.