False economy, false conclusions

By Paul Goodman

If you want to measure the effects of the spending scaleback, a simple way of doing so is to slap down a series of FOI requests.  But be warned: simple means can mean simplistic, and therefore rebuttable, conclusions - exactly the trap False Economy has fallen into today.

Someone at the TUC-linked campaign had the bright idea of banging in up to 250 FOI submissions to local authorities aimed at unearthing cuts to local charities.  And lo and behold...the results found some £110 million worth of reductions, which were duly reported today on the BBC and elsewhere.

However, once the detail is examined, False Economy turns out to have produced a bit of a boomerang...which is why its effort so easily opens itself up to rebuttal.