Environment Agency boss Sir Philip Dilley has been criticised for being in the Caribbean while northern England was ravaged by floods. But it’s budget cuts that ought to be coming under scrutinyOver the last few years,the kindergarten of British public life has firmly established its naughty step: the hearings of its esteemed select committees. A powerful mechanism for accountability though these hearings undoubtedly are, their in-built tendency to scapegoat (of course the shiny chubby cat declining to reply the question is responsible for all the world’s ills, and of course its a pleasure to watch him squirm) does sometimes seem more appropriate for investigations into who hid the Lego than complex things of public policy. Related: The floods are a stark reminder – natural disasters can happen in the UK,too | Rose George Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com