Taxpayers blow £46million on public officials suspended for sexual assault, sleeping on duty and being drunk at work
More than 5,000 NHS, police and county council staff were suspended on full pay
A staggering £46million of taxpayer’s cash was blown on public officials suspended on full pay, a probe has revealed.
More than 5,000 NHS, police and county council staff were suspended over offences including sexual assaults, growing drugs, sleeping on duty, being drunk at work or tormenting sick patients, an investigation by ITV’s Tonight programme found.
All the staff continued to be paid their full wages despite being sent home and suspended from all duties.
Investigators used Freedom of Information laws to survey all NHS trusts across England, all police forces and country councils.
But less than half NHS Trusts responded in full while 29 out of 47 police forces replied with all information asked.
Fewer than half of county councils got back with complete responses.
Last night Dia Chakravarty of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said the figure was the tip of the iceberg.
She said: “This is a phenomenal waste of taxpayers money. To put it in context, for every £100,000 of taxpayers’ money that is spent in the public sector, the average worker has to work about 7,5000 hours to earn it.
“Here we are talking about tens of millions of pounds. The sheer scale is staggering. I am sure we can all think of better ways of spending that money.”
Suspended: Britain’s Pay Scandal? Tonight is on ITV at 7.30pm this evening.