View Full Version : Transport select committe attacks NATS cutbacks
Lowtimer
30th Jul 2002, 12:06
The UK parliament's transport select committee is reported as attacking staff cut-backs and cost-cutting at NATS. They seem to have been quite trenchant in their criticisms of the privatisation regime. There's a BBC report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2161079.stm
BDiONU
30th Jul 2002, 13:40
Darn! Not available to us plebs until 1430Z!
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/tlgrpnt90.htm
ayrprox
31st Jul 2002, 09:47
Cue The MP's with fingers in ears going "LALALALALALA Not Listening LALALALALA":D
BEXIL160
31st Jul 2002, 11:59
Just for amusement have a read of this:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/789/2061101.htm
It's some of the verbal evidence that the Report is based on and shows Ms. Dunwoody at her formidable best. Messrs Everitt and Chisholm appear decidedly uncomfortable :)
Enjoy
Rgds BEX
Buster the Bear
31st Jul 2002, 14:24
What an entertaining read!
What a waste of time/money PPP has been !
BDiONU
1st Aug 2002, 06:01
The full, scathing, transport select committee report can be seen here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/789/78902.htm#evidence
LOTS of copies of it floating around the office yesterday! At least it cleared up why my department has been put under so much pressure to introduce EPS (elimination of Paper Strips) and why so much money has been thrown at it. £1.5m so far (and £100k over budget since April) and looking at £2.5m for another year.
The select committee wanted the Swanwick system to be more robust etc. yet EPS will simply add another layer of software. All of this, of course, reliant on good old NAS. It all rather begs the question as to why there's no serious plan to replace NAS, thus giving us a stable base on which to build for iFACTS. IMHO a much more useful bit of functionality than EPS which has little proven benefit to Controllers and in fact will increase the Planners workload as he's got to do the ATSA's job as well (apart from the strip bashing)!!
Curious report on the BBC today about Colin Chisolms internal staff briefing of the week before last here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2164989.stm