Cut government to pay for cost of living crisis - here's how.

 As the dust settles on the cost of living round-up, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng can now focus on the mass of money sprinkled around the economy to aid climate change mitigation (there are other areas of government that also have sprinklers too).
Each of the schemes needs managing, monitoring and policing. Where do these people come from? Who pays for them, their offices and expenses?

It is worth looking at some of these schemes.

The government’s 95% mortgage guarantee scheme for homebuyers with 5% deposits on properties worth up to £600,000 (until the end of 2022) offers the prospect of “taking the market into overheated, dangerous territory”.

In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged to spend £9.2 billion on upgrading the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals. This included Social Housing.

Starting in 2022, tens of thousands of homes are to be built on derelict sites as part of a nearly £2 billion drive generously paid for by the British taxpayer through its agent, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

There is more:

• The Decarbonisation Fund Homes of £3.8 billion over a ten year period;

• Home Upgrade Grants worth £2.5 billion over a five year period.

• Decarbonisation Scheme of £2.9 billion over a five year period.

On 8 July 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £2 billion Green Homes Grant, with vouchers of up to £5,000 to help homeowners upgrade their homes, and up to £10,000 available to some of the UK’s poorest families.

There is also a £1 billion programme to make public buildings, including schools and hospitals, across the UK greener and £50 million to pilot innovative approaches to retrofitting social housing at scale.

The Building Research Establishment shows the annual costs to the NHS of poor quality and hazardous housing at £1.4 billion. This rises to £18.5 billion p.a. when wider societal costs are included (long-term care, mental health etc.). Who should pay? Why the NHS of course, from its annual budget.

Here I have already identified 20% of the billion expected to be spent on the cost of living crisis.

Additionally, there are inspectorates, and planning establishments galore.

They too can be shipped out from under the government's largess.

I cover this quite thoroughly in my book Climate Change House where there is much more and there are some reforms that can take public sector bureaucracy away from the taxpayer.

picture Getty Images