Re: ‘The runaway gravy train,’ by Mike Bentley in York Press.

In this revealing feature, Mike discloses that 20% of our workforce are employed by NuLabour at a cost approaching £1.6 billion a year.

There are many doing excellent work in essential public services but, judging by the way many services are struggling, managers and adminstrators, who tend to command the highest earnings along with their political bosses, are too numerous and surplus to requirement.

Is it possible to discover how many people, within these numbers, work in the ‘benefit’ industry and at what cost, in relation to the actual number receiving benefits and how much they receive. Also the amount of legitimate benefits which remain in the treasury, unclaimed by those who need them, because they are too difficult to claim?

It should be remembered that they all have to be accommodated in buildings, recruited, managed, trained and equipped. Also provided with protected pensions and benefits.