Letters | 19 February 2011

The army’s example

Sir: Ross Clark and Martin Vander Weyer have hit the nail on the head again with their customary precision (‘Councils of Despair’ and Any Other Business, 12 February). The only aspect of ‘best practice’ that seems to have thrived in the public sector is eye-watering levels of remuneration for top management. I certainly hold no brief for fat cat bankers, but at least they do not pretend to be ‘delivering’ public services — they do what they do to make money for their shareholders and for themselves. If they fail to perform, they are sacked.

There are some parts of the public sector which have been mercifully unscathed by modern management fads. The British military is one of these. The contrast between the salaries of local government ‘chief executives’ and, for the sake of argument, that of the commanding officer of an infantry battalion serving in Helmand (just under £70,000 p.a.)