bbc expenses "row"

[Ankou]

a report i read this morning seems to be trying to make a story out some expenses claimed, for travel, car parking, flowers and gifts etc by bbc ‘bossses’. now yes i think that they are already paid quite well, allegedly 46 of the top managers “earn more then the prime minister”. but is there really a story here ?

the director general claimed nearly £3,500 over a 3 month period, and included several parking tickets for (wait for it…) 70p. now some members of my team notch up over a grand a month in travel, parking and subsistence. is the dg’s really that obscene ?

another ‘top boss’ claimed £80 for flowers. were they for staff members who had a baby, loved one died, got married ? again we do this all the time here.

the only one that raised my roger moore eyebrow was a claim by another ‘top boss’ for gifts sent to celebrities who tok part in children in need.

should we be outraged and demand a public inquiry, or is this all just a bit of petty crap ?

[B00]

Gosh, the fat cats of a multi million pound company fiddling expenses- who'd have thunk it!

[jackthehat]

The BBC is essentially funded by everyone who owns a TV.
It matters not the calibre nor expectations of the managers...........
The viewing public understand the principles of big-business and the wheels within wheels. We just don't want our TV tax spent on frivolities or the whim of unaccountable, unelected and unremovable bigwigs.

The fact that there may be some partisan reasons for the disclosure of these expenses is neither here nor there, it doesn't make the accusations any less true..........

[naomi24]

The people who head the BBC don't do it for free. They're paid to do the job, and they accept the terms. That doesn't give them carte blanche to spend public money on flowers for other members of staff.

[Sandy-Wroe]

Are there any claims for duck houses, or moat cleaning bills amongst the expenses?

[B00]

I would also presume they're paid extremely well too. Certainly enough to stump up for a bunch of flowers occasionaly out of their own pockets.

[Ankou]

what about flowers to decorate a news studio ?

[Ankou]

or to provide all the newsreaders with poppies ?

[B00]

Blimey Ankou, which news programmes do you watch that have flowers in it?

And why supply the poppies free of charge to them (granted, paid for by somebody- hopefully!)? They are what? a minimum donation of a quid?

[Ankou]

i don't know b00, maybe the 'top boss' had to make a quick dash to get 80 poppy's with spndoolees for the hob npbs from her purse and then reclaimed it from petty cash.

[jake-the-peg]

I dare say that Murdoch's support for Cameron has strings attached.

You may miss the BBC if he gets in

[LoftyLottie]

I actually think that it's not all petty crap. I don't care whether it's £5.00, £500,or £50,000. It is not their money to spend and they should be accountable.

[naomi24]

Exactly Lottie.

[ummmm]

If you look around somewhere like The Ivy at lunchtime there is a mix of people including some who are presumably spending BBC expenses.

You're not allowed to claim 'entertainment' anymore.

[ummmm]

When I was doing accounts I was informed that you couldn't claim for anything relating to entertainment/food unless you're working away from home.

[Ankou]

the bbc hasn't claimed any 'entertainment' for a while.

now aint that the truth !