Snag your tights, get a payout! How civil servants are allowed to claim for everyday wear-and-tear of their clothes – and taxpayers foot the bill
- Civil servants automatically given an extra 2.5 ‘privilege’ days off per year
- Female civil servant laddering £5 pair of tights would get £4.50 compensation – even if it was her own fault
- Ripped two-year-old silk blouse worth £80 would attract £40 compensation, £32 if it is polyester
By Jason Groves and Tim Shipman
Last updated at 10:11 PM on 17th February 2012
Embarrassment: Francis Maude boasted this week that Whitehall waste was being brought under control
Senior civil servants are claiming taxpayer-funded compensation which could be worth hundreds of pounds when they ladder their tights or snag their suits.
A leaked dossier on pay and perks has revealed that civil servants can claim for damaged clothing, handbags and shoes – even if their department was not to blame for the mishap.
The rules mean that a male employee who damaged a £300 woollen suit would be paid £225 if it was 12 months old and £150 if it was two years old.
A female civil servant ripping a £5 pair of tights at work can expect £4.50, even if it was her own fault.
Last night MPs accused mandarins of living in ‘a parallel universe’ after it emerged that they can even claim handouts from the public purse for battered old shoes that are more than five years old and items that are simply ‘lost’.
Documents passed to the Daily Mail by a Whitehall whistleblower reveal that the perk is just one of an array of benefits lavished on Britain’s 500,000 civil servants.
The details are an embarrassment for Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who boasted this week that he was making huge strides in stripping out waste in the civil service.
He said: ‘We are creating a much leaner, more effective Whitehall machine that manages its finances like the best-run businesses and demands the best return for public money.
‘This Government has been relentlessly hunting down waste and shaking Whitehall up.’
What he failed to mention was that departments still compensate employees for loss or damage to personal property that ‘was caused through its negligence’ or due to ‘actions and omissions’ by ‘members of staff or contractors’.
But civil servants can also receive ‘goodwill payments’ when ‘neither the department nor you was negligent in causing the loss or damage to personal property’.
One document provides a complex ready reckoner detailing how much staff can claim.
The compensation is paid out at generous rates, taking only slight account of wear and tear.
Under the rules, clothes made from a majority of natural fibres such as cotton and silk are judged to lose just a quarter of their value each year.
Garments made from polyester depreciate by 40 per cent for the first year and 20 per cent each following year up to a total of four years.
Thus a ripped two-year-old silk blouse worth £80 would attract compensation of £40 and the owner of a polyester garment of the same price would get £32.
It is not known how much money is claimed each year in compensation.
The dossier was leaked by an ‘appalled’ former private sector worker who recently took up a position in a Whitehall department.
Payout: Female civil servants who ladder their tights could be in line for a payout of £4.50 for a £5 pair
The whistleblower said: ‘My jaw hit the floor when I was told about all the perks I would be entitled to. There is no way you would get anything like this in the private sector – companies would go bust and the economy would collapse if you did. I think it’s important that people in the private sector know the truth about life in the civil service.
‘How anyone can go on strike over pensions and keep a straight face when they have it this easy is beyond me.’
The dossier reveals that, despite deep cuts to other areas of public spending, the cossetted working conditions enjoyed in much of the heavily-unionised civil service remain virtually unchanged.
The documents make it clear that staff will enjoy pensions ‘unmatched in the private sector’.
And they reveal that civil servants are automatically granted an extra two-and-a-half days off each year on top of a generous allocation of six weeks’ annual leave plus eight bank holidays.
The ‘privilege days’, which mark Christmas, Easter and the Queen’s official birthday, are unknown outside the public sector.
Some civil servants can even claim expenses from beyond the grave. Up to three relatives of someone awarded an honour such as an MBE can get taxpayers’ money for a cab to Buckingham Palace to receive the insignia if the recipient has died.
Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘It’s staggering. The civil service seems to be living in a parallel universe. It just goes to show how much more Whitehall waste the government can cut.
‘Maybe the next time my shoes conk out I’ll ask the Speaker of the Commons to give me some public money to replace them because of the amount of walking I’ve done around Westminster.’
A TaxPayers’ Alliance spokesman said: ‘It’s absurd that civil servants are able to claim taxpayers’ money if they ladder their tights at work or wear out their shoes in the course of doing their job. There’s no reason they can’t accept a degree of wear and tear on their clothing like everyone else.’
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘There is no free-for-all clothes replacement in the civil service. Departments can compensate employees for property damaged at work but only if there’s reasonable case for it. Abuse of the rules is not tolerated.’
Categories: News Tags: Allowed, bill, Civil, claim, clothes, everyday, foot, payout, servants, Snag, taxpayers, their, tights, wearandtear
Sex predator Kajus Scuka allowed into UK to carry out knifepoint rape and string of attacks
- Kajus Scuka, 48, jailed for life today with a minimum term of 12 years
- Rapist slipped into Britain undetected and signed on for benefits
- He stabbed wife three times in row over his infidelity and was jailed for life in 1988
- Also convicted of gross indecency, indecent assault and attacking a woman with an axe in his homeland
By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 6:40 PM on 27th January 2012
A dangerous sexual predator from the Czech Republic who murdered his wife at home came to the UK and carried out a knifepoint rape and three serious sex attacks on women, a court heard.
Kajus Scuka, 48, raped a woman on her 54th birthday as she walked her dog in a park and groped his other victims and offered them cash for sex.
The convicted killer was claiming £67-per-week in benefits after coming to the country in 2009.
A judge today expressed dismay that despite his serious convictions and lengthy sentence, Scuka was ‘free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen.’
Jailed: Kajus Scuka, 48, who had served 11-and-a-half years of a 13 year sentence in his homeland
He was allowed into the country despite serving 11-and-a-half years of a 13 year sentence for murdering his wife.
He had been jailed in 1988 for stabbing her three times in his homeland when they argued over his infidelity.
Scuka also has convictions in the Czech Republic for gross indecency, indecent assault and assaulting a woman with an axe for which he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Although he was already a convicted killer, as he was not deemed high profile enough he is likely to have slipped into the country unnoticed because border officials would not have known of his criminal past.
Judge Peter Kelson told the defendant: ‘It seems to me that even with your convictions for murder and assaults you were free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen’
Any EU citizen is entitled to come into the country unless border officials can show that the individual represents a danger under free movement of labour laws.
The system is reliant on criminal records databases being shared – and a conviction alone is not enough to keep someone out.
The Sheffield attacks all happened within a two-mile radius of the city’s giant Meadowhall Shopping Centre between March 2010 and May 2011 and – police did not even know the killer was in the country.
Jailing Scuka for life with a minimum term of 12 years at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Peter Kelson told him: ‘I regard you as a very, very dangerous man.’
He said he was ‘unwilling to control his sexual urges and was a grave danger to women’ and he would be recommending Scuka for deportation after he has served his sentence.
The judge said: ‘If there is ever such a day you are released in this country you should be deported. I have no doubt that the public will be terribly alarmed.
‘It seems to me that even with your convictions for murder and assaults you were free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen.’
After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Ian Harding said it was worrying that Scuka could slip into Britain under the radar.
‘It is a concern that people of this nature move freely about the EU without any restriction,’ he said.
‘This man has been living in Sheffield since 2009 and we were not even aware of his presence.’
Scuka first struck in March, 2010 as a 51-year-old grandmother walked her two-year-old granddaughter home in a pram at Sheffield Lane Top.
WHY ARE WE NOT WARNED ABOUT EU CRIMINALS?
Britain’s ‘open borders’ agreement with the European Union means millions of people with criminal records can get into the country unchecked.
Any citizen of an EU country, including the 8 countries of Eastern Europe, can get into the UK without a visa, just as Britons can travel freely around the continent.
When EU nationals arrive at the border, their passport details are checked against a ‘watch list’ of serious criminals and terror suspects compiled by the UK Border Agency.
But the database contains giant holes – as the British authorities are reliant on other countries to share their criminal records.
Unless an offender is high profile, is known to have committed crimes in several countries, or is on the Interpol wanted list – the system is unlikely to be aware of their previous convictions.
And even if a new arrival does have a conviction – or indeed several – and the authorities are aware of them, they cannot automatically be refused entry.
European free movement rules mean they can be barred to ‘maintain public security’ but convictions in themselves do not necessarily mean they will be turned away.
Even more worrying is that many foreign nationals do not undergo rigorous background checks even after they have been arrested.
Each year around 30,000 pass through the criminal justice system without police exploring the full extent of their criminal pasts.
By comparison, criminals from outside the EU who want to come to Britain must obtain a visa before entering – and are required to declare any previous convictions.
He approached the woman from behind and put his hand between her legs while making ‘sexual grunting noises’, said prosecutor Mike Smith.
His victim turned round and swore at Scuka who fled.
The second attack happened on April 14 when a 23-year-old was approached by Scuka who pretended to be jogging as she walked alongside the River Don.
His victim said he appeared to be wanting directions but he then grabbed her and tried to push her into nearby undergrowth and said: ‘I give you 30 quid.’
The woman, who escaped, told the court: ‘At first I thought he was going to mug me but then I realised he wasn’t after money.’
Two hours later Scuka raped his third victim as she walked her dog on playing fields after work just a mile away at Wincobank.
The victim told the court a man speaking broken English asked her for directions then knocked her into a ditch.
He slapped her hard on her thighs before taking out a penknife and raping her.
She said: ‘He tried to kiss me. He kept slapping me. At one point I was thinking I didn’t want to die in this ditch, I didn’t want to die with my clothes off and be found by children.’
The final attack was on May 17, 2011 when a student in her 20s was walking through a park in Firth Park.
Scuka grabbed her from behind and said ‘let’s have sex’ but she managed to break free and escape as he tried to rip off her coat.
He was arrested minutes later at his home half a mile away.
Scuka’s DNA was found on the rape victim while fibres from a hooded top he wore for the last attack were found on his victim’s coat.
Scuka, who spoke through an interpreter in court, was convicted by a jury of one offence of rape and three offences of sexual assault.
He told the court he lost his footing as he spoke to the rape victim and they both fell to the ground on a public footpath.
Scuka claimed the woman touched him sexually first and he found her attractive but did nothing against her will.
Police believed he returned home for brief periods by bus during his time in Sheffield. Det Sgt Harding said: ‘He claimed he came here looking for work but he hasn’t done any and just signed on.’
Categories: News Tags: Allowed, attacks, Carry, into, Kajus, knifepoint, predator, rape, Scuka, string
Latvian axe murderer allowed into Britain was only exposed after killing motorcyclist in drink-drive smash
- Used axe to ‘garrot’ drinking partner in Latvia before setting fire to house to hide evidence
- Moved to Boston, Lincolnshire, in 2010
- Then killed motorcyclist Valentina Planciunene, 37, while more than twice legal drink-drive limit
- Judge: ‘On Valentine’s Day, Darien Long said goodbye to his partner, Valentina. Thanks to you she never came back’
By Katherine Faulkner
Last updated at 12:36 AM on 22nd November 2011
Axe murderer: Intars Pless was allowed to move to Britain in 2010 without anyone knowing about his criminal past
Police had ‘no idea’ an Eastern European axe murderer was living in the country until he killed an innocent woman while drink-driving.
Latvian Intars Pless, 34, came to Britain last year after serving six years for murdering a friend.
But the authorities were unaware of his criminal past until February this year when he ran his car straight into Valentina Planciunene.
He then drove away from the scene – leaving the 37-year-old moped rider from Belarus to die on the road in Boston, Lincolnshire.
After Pless was convicted on Friday of causing death by dangerous driving, prosecutor Stuart Lody said: ‘The court may be astonished to know the British authorities had no way of knowing if a foreign national convicted of murder is in the country until that person is charged under an English law and they can do a check.
‘Lincolnshire Police had no idea a man such as this was living among the good people of Boston.’ But Judge Sean Morris replied: ‘I am not surprised.’ Turning to the jury at Lincoln Crown Court, he said: ‘Members of the jury, welcome to our world.’
Miss Planciunene left for work on her moped in the early hours of February 15 after celebrating Valentine’s Day with her British partner of two years, Darien Long.
The court heard that Miss Planciunene took safety very seriously and had been wearing a white helmet and a fluorescent yellow coat.
She was knocked into an oncoming people carrier by Pless, who was driving while two-and-a-half times over the limit after drinking whisky all night.
Victim: Valentina Planciunene, 37, was on her way to work on Valentine’s Day when she was killed by Pless while he was driving at more than twice the legal limit
A year earlier, Pless had been released from a Latvian prison after serving time for his murderous attack on a drinking companion.
He slashed the man with an axe, fatally slicing through his jugular vein, then tried to destroy the evidence by setting fire to the house where the crime was committed.
Previously, he had been sentenced to three years’ jail for a serious theft in Latvia. But despite these offences, as an EU national he was able to come to the UK with only minimal checks.
The jury heard Miss Planciunene, who came to the UK from Belarus four years ago, was riding her 125cc bike to her job at a local food processing factory when Pless’s car knocked her into the path of an oncoming people carrier.
‘The driver had no time to take avoiding action.’ Although Pless stopped his car a short distance from the crash he then drove off after his passenger got out.
‘When we first saw each other, I suppose you could say it was love at first sight.
‘She was my life, not a day goes by without me thinking of her and missing her’
DRINK-DRIVE VICTIM’S BRITISH PARTNER
When Pless was arrested, he denied he had been driving. Police had to send officers to Latvia to eliminate as a suspect the man he claimed was behind the wheel.
Miss Planciunene had come to the UK from Belarus four years ago. She lived in Boston and worked long hours in a food processing plant.
After Pless was found guilty on Friday, Mr Long, 44, said: ‘She was my life. Not a day goes by without me thinking of her and missing her.’
Pless, who faces up to 14 years in prison, will be sentenced at a later date. After remanding him in custody, Judge Morris said: ‘I will be recommending the deportation of this man.’
The ‘free movement’ directive means it is virtually impossible to stop EU citizens with criminal convictions from entering Britain.
The policy – which was agreed by Labour in 2004 – means that anyone from the EU has the freedom to travel to the UK without the same stringent tests applied those from other countries.
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: ‘The onus for flagging someone’s criminal history lies with the police in their home country. We would then use this information to decide whether they should be allowed into the UK.’
Categories: News Tags: after, Allowed, Britain, Drinkdrive, exposed, into, killing, Latvian, motorcyclist, Murderer, Only, smash
Boy, 10, attacked by sex offender Shaun Tudor after he was allowed out unsupervised
- Shaun Tudor, 43, sexually assaulted and tried to rape victim
- Spent entire adult life in psychiatric hospitals including two spells in maximum security Rampton
- Had previously assaulted two young boys
- Parents: ‘Why was Tudor allowed out unaccompanied?’
- Judge tells him he is unlikely ever to be freed
By Katherine Faulkner
Last updated at 9:53 PM on 16th November 2011
Dangerous: Shaun Tudor has been jailed indefinitely for the attempted rape and sexual assault of a ten-year-old boy in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire
A convicted sex offender attacked a ten-year-old boy just minutes after being allowed to walk out of his secure unit unsupervised.
Shaun Tudor, who has spent 23 years in psychiatric institutions, was granted unescorted leave even though he had a history of attacking boys – and once did so while on leave from another unit.
In his latest attack, Tudor dragged his terrified victim into some bushes within ten minutes of being let out.
The 43-year-old, who completed two spells totalling seven years at high-security mental institution Rampton, then sexually assaulted and attempted to rape the boy.
Yesterday, at Nottingham Crown Court, Tudor was jailed indefinitely over the attack, in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire.
The court heard that it had left the family of Tudor’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in ‘turmoil’, and forced them to leave the area.
After sentencing, the family’s solicitor, Martin Lee, said: ‘They feel terribly let down by the system that allowed Tudor to be placed at this unit in a residential area. And they have other questions. Why was Tudor, with his record, allowed out of the unit unaccompanied?’
Tudor struck on a ‘sunny afternoon’ last July, the court heard.
Tudor told the two boys he was ‘looking at nature’ then pretended to fall over. When the victim went to help him up, he grabbed him and carried him off into bushes and carried out sex attack
His victim was playing with a friend in woods 250 yards from his home.
After being released from the nearby St Andrew’s Healthcare Centre on a two-hour leave of absence, Tudor spotted the boys and told them he was ‘looking at nature’. He then pretended to fall over, and when his victim went to help him up, Tudor grabbed him and carried him into bushes, out of the sight of his friend.
There, Tudor attacked the boy, before threatening to ‘track him down and kill him’ if he reported what had happened.
The boy returned to his friend and initially didn’t say anything.
Answers wanted: Tudor had been given unsupervised leave from the St Andrew’s Healthcare Centre (pictured) in Mansfield when the attack took place
Predator: Tudor has spent his whole adult life in psychiatric units including two spells at maximum-security Rampton Hospital (pictured) in Nottinghamshire
’The attack on their son has had a devastating effect on their family. Why was Tudor, with his record, allowed out
of the unit unaccompanied?’
But when he got home, he began sobbing and told his horrified mother, who called the police.
Tudor was picked up eight hours later, around five miles away. After his arrest, he told officers: ‘I’ve been doing so well for the last 24 years.’
Tudor had indecently assaulted young boys on two previous occasions – in 1984, when he was just 16, and then again four years later.
Tudor was convicted of indecent assault over the second attack, on a seven-year-old boy, which happened while he was on weekend leave from a psychiatric hospital in Birmingham.
Warning: A judge told Tudor at Nottingham Crown Court (pictured) that he would serve at least four years and 10 months before being considered for release, but said it was unlikely he would be freed
‘A PREFERENCE FOR YOUNG BOYS’: TUDOR’S OFFENDING BEGAN AT 16
Tudor first came to the attention of the authorities in 1984 at the age of 16 when he was given a care order for indecently assaulting a six-year-old boy, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Four years later, he launched a horrific attack on a seven-year-old boy while on weekend leave while being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Birmingham.
The court heard he approached the youngster, who was on a bike, and marched him down to a river where he ordered him to remove his trousers.
But when the frightened boy soiled himself, Tudor became angry and held his head under water while striking him with a rock.
He was convicted of indecent assault and given his first hospital order.
Since then, Tudor has never been free, spending his entire adult life in different psychiatric hospitals across the UK.
He was in Rampton from 1988 to 1995, returning for a second spell in 1998.
Tudor was moved to St Andrew’s in Nottinghamshire from a low security unit in Northamptonshire when it was reclassified as a ‘locked unit’.
Steven Taylor, mitigating, said his ‘grading risk had gone up and down under different regimes’ over the years.
He added: ‘His preference clearly is for young boys and he was unable to control himself on this latest occasion.
‘He probably convinced himself that he would be able to manage in the community.’
He was sent to Rampton, the high security mental institution which has treated ‘Angel of Death’ nurse Beverley Allitt, Soham murderer Ian Huntley and serial killer Mark Rowntree. He was there until 1995, returning for a spell in 1998.
The court heard Tudor had been moved to the medium-to-low security St Andrew’s Centre eight months before his latest attack. It was also told that in a pre-sentence report, Tudor said: ‘I will definitely reoffend against children if I am released into the community.’
Steven Taylor, defending, said that Tudor ‘plainly was not safe to be out on unescorted leave’, and that ‘someone at St Andrew’s had taken a chance’.
But Judge John Burgess said he believed there was an ‘element of deviousness’ about how Tudor answered questions which allowed him to be granted leave, and that he ‘appeared to have learned what to say to impress’.
Judge Burgess said he was imposing a jail term, instead of the hospital orders Tudor had been subject to in the past, because ‘everything had been tried and not worked’.
He handed Tudor, who admitted attempted rape and sexual assault, an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a recommendation he serve at least four years and ten months before being considered for release.
In reality, the judge said, it was unlikely he would ever be freed.
A spokesman for St Andrew’s Healthcare, a not-for-profit mental health charity, said: ‘St Andrew’s wants to reassure the community of its commitment to good practice and that an incident of this type is exceptionally rare.’
He said the decision to allow Tudor unescorted leave was ‘clinically appropriate, based on the information available at the time’.
Detective Inspector Caroline Racher, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘We…have been working with the management at St Andrew’s to ensure there can be no repetition of such a terrible incident.’
Shamed peer allowed back into House of Lords despite failing to repay a penny of her £125,000 false expenses
- Baroness Uddin owns three properties with her husband but says she is ‘too poor’ to repay money
- Peer had ‘never been seen’ at main home in Maidstone
- Fears she will use tax-free £300-per-day House of Lords allowance to slowly pay back £125k
By Kirsty Walker
Last updated at 5:23 PM on 13th November 2011
Shamed: Baroness Uddin could return to the House of Lords without repaying £125,000 in expenses
Shamed Labour peer Baroness Uddin will be allowed to return to her seat in the House of Lords despite failing to repay a penny of the money she was fined for cheating on her expenses.
Lady Uddin, the country’s first female peer, was booted out of the Lords for 18 months and ordered to repay £125,000. Despite owning three properties with her husband, she claims she is now too poor to repay the money.
It has now emerged that the Lords authorities are powerless to prevent Lady Uddin, whose suspension ends in April, from returning to the House of Lords.
A ruling by the committee for privileges and conduct in the Lords says that it would be illegal to make her return conditional on the repayment of the money.
It has warned that such an arrangement would amount to a permanent ban and this would infringe her ‘right’ as a peer to be called to the House by the Queen at the start of a new Parliament.
Lady Uddin was exposed as a cheat in May 2009 after it was reported that she had never been seen at her designated ‘main home’ in Kent.
The small flat in Maidstone allowed her to claim £174 a night while she was actually living at her family home in London, provided by a housing association.
Lady Uddin has always denied wrongdoing, but an investigation by the Lords authorities found she had deliberately exploited the system to boost her income.
The failure by the authorities to prevent the peer returning to the Lords has angered her fellow peers.
They fear that Lady Uddin wants to use her peers’ tax-free allowance of £300 a day to gradually pay back her debts. If she attended the House of Lords frequently, she could pay back all £125,000 in three years.
‘Main home’: Baroness Uddin’s property in Maidstone, Kent, which she listed as her primary residence. Neighbours said she was never seen there
This would mean that the disgraced peer would end up repaying taxpayers with their own money.
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said: ‘It can’t be right to let a disgraced peer back before they have repaid their bogus expenses. If you do not pay your fines, you go to prison.’
His view is shared by a sub-committee on Lords’ conduct which has warned that she should not be allowed to come back until the money has been repaid.
The subcommittee, chaired by former M15 head Baroness Manningham-Buller, said in a report earlier this month: ‘We do not consider a member should be able to return to service of the house while repayment of amounts which were wrongfully claimed is still due.
‘This risks bringing the house into further disrepute, especially if the member concerned is able to claim further attendance allowances from the public purse.’
Fellow expenses cheats in the Lords have either paid back the money or have vowed to do so before they return. Lord Hanningfield has promised to pay back the £30,000 he falsely claimed, while fellow Conservative Lord Taylor of Warwick has already paid back the full amount of £24,000.
Lady Uddin’s main home is in Wapping, East London. She pays reduced rent as it is a housing association property intended for people on low incomes.
She still owns the flat in Maidstone, which has been advertised for let for £695 a month. Meanwhile, her husband owns a mansion in Bangladesh which is decorated with Italian marble and cost around £140,000.
Lady Uddin has declined to comment. When the scandal broke, she insisted that she had stayed regularly in the Kent home.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced on 10 March 2010 that Baroness Uddin would not face any charges on the grounds that a senior parliamentary official ruled that a Peers ‘main house’ might be a place they visit only once a month.
