Even the Today programme has noticed - John Humphrys this morning described the existence of problems with transporting ministerial red boxes as a flaw in the system.
There used to be something called the IDS which always caused me a degree of modest amusement when the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions became leader of the Conservative Party in opposition & his initials began to feature regularly in the media.
The IDS I am thinking of stood for Inter-Departmental Document Service & was a kind of internal government courier service – not just for Whitehall but for regional outposts too. At times when cuts in, or even just constraints on, public expenditure pressed hard, stern reminders would come round – do not use Royal Mail where IDS will do.
I do not know if the service still exists, I expect it has been privatised or otherwise outsourced. But surely they could bring it back for transporting red boxes now that ministers are more parsimonious in their own modes of travel. It would be much cheaper than limousines.
There used to be something called the IDS which always caused me a degree of modest amusement when the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions became leader of the Conservative Party in opposition & his initials began to feature regularly in the media.
The IDS I am thinking of stood for Inter-Departmental Document Service & was a kind of internal government courier service – not just for Whitehall but for regional outposts too. At times when cuts in, or even just constraints on, public expenditure pressed hard, stern reminders would come round – do not use Royal Mail where IDS will do.
I do not know if the service still exists, I expect it has been privatised or otherwise outsourced. But surely they could bring it back for transporting red boxes now that ministers are more parsimonious in their own modes of travel. It would be much cheaper than limousines.
