Organisational restructuring happens to be what I do.

I am sure the Civil Service in all its guises is ripe for change but it's a very difficult thing to pull off. Just reducing headcount by 19% won't do it.

What usually happens is that people capable of getting jobs elsewhere take the pay-off and run, leaving the weakest behind

The obvious issue with that is the leavers may have rare skills and those that remain be inappropriate for the vacancies they create. You absolutely can’t ban recruitment in that situation.

An issue I was dealing with required HMRC to bring to bear specialist capability. There were TWO people in the whole of HMRC able to handle the query. One of them was long term absent due to stress, what a surprise.

That's the private sector, the civil servants who have a cushy life will want to stay rather than face the reality of having to be productive in the real world.

The passport backlog is not there because people working in the passport office go the extra mile to satisfy customers. Last time I renewed my passport I went to the office in Peterborough, if the staff went any slower they would be statues.

Don’t know what the plan is or which law was used. I believe assets are frozen not redeployed. Maybe they will go towards reparations to Ukraine in due course

This may be relevant

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power. Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime which do not require a conviction are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers. The aim of the asset recovery schemes in POCA is to deny criminals the use of their assets, recover the proceeds of crime and disrupt and deter criminality. Since 2010, more than £746 million of criminal assets has been seized (to 2013/14) across all four methods of recovery – a record amount. Over the same period, assets worth more than £2.5 billion have been frozen denying criminals access to these resources and £93 million has been returned to victims.

I can easily the see the next leader not being in the current cabinet, having said, some of the current crop are ok if not PM material.

It is cringeworthy when Dorries releases a video in which she talks about " downstreaming " from the internet and tennis "pitches ". Her appointment to cabinet really is a puzzle

Edited by HKOwen (24 Apr 2022 2.00am)

You have such a simple view on life, bless.

The money that was eventually returned to Iran was a payment made for goods that never were delivered. At some point the payment had to be returned. It was never in doubt, only the timing was.

For the avoidance of doubt:

In the mid-1970s the UK sold more than 1,500 Chieftain battle tanks and 250 repair vehicles to Iran. Iran paid £600m for the tanks in advance, but the UK, through its arms sales export subsidiary International Military Services (IMS), in February 1979 refused to deliver the remaining weaponry when the shah was deposed and replaced by a new regime. Only 185 tanks had been delivered.

After years of private negotiations, in 1990 Iran made a claim for its money back for the undelivered weaponry by taking the UK to international arbitration in The Hague. The UK made a counterclaim in 1996, but in an arbitration in 2001 the UK lost both claims. Iran then sought to have the award enforced in the English courts, something Britain resisted until IMS in 2002 put £350m into the UK court as security. The UK had its final appeal dismissed in 2009.

Since then there has been obfuscation, that is all.

As I stated, I don't know how the UK is justifying the freezing of Russian assets, I can only guess it is based on proceeds of crime legislation. It could be something else. I make no comment on whether or not the use of the legislation is appropriate as I don't know which rationale is being run with.