Defra Spaffing £300,000 To Monitor “Reputational Risks” in the Media – Guido Fawkes

Defra Spaffing £300,000 To Monitor “Reputational Risks” in the Media

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As Guido reported, civil servants working in Defra and its agencies have been enjoying splashing the cash on taxpayer credit cards, managing to increase spending on their government procurement cards by over £100,000 after the so-called card ‘freeze’ came into effect. Not good look for Labour’s vaunted ‘crackdown’ on waste…

It’s no surprise then that UK DOGE’s The Waste Files has uncovered that Defra has just awarded a £300,000 four-year contract for “media monitoring” to inform its communications team “about how these organisations are being reported in the media, identify emerging or breaking news stories, and monitor potential reputational risks.” The supplier will provide the team with a “daily morning media summary.” That’ll likely be a gruelling read…

For that you could:

• Fill 4,166 potholes.
• Buy 27 unmarked police cars.
• Hire 11 junior nurses.

The taxpayer may have a view on which should be prioritised. UK DOGE recommends costs are cut here…