Well yes it does. They spend such a lot of time saying we can't afford this and that. But they don't exercise even the slightest degree of common sense when they go and spend our money.

How would it have hurt Birmingham council to check out what ordinary people were paying for maisonettes? What made it necessary for them to pay three times more for a worse product?

Think of how you shop around if you want a new guitar or a new car, what makes them exempt from the same sort of husbandry.

The National Health Service is a prime example. The kind of budget it has - it should be able to really twist the balls off suppliers.

Is it getting as good value as you get down the supermarket? I've been in several hospitals where the staff can't afford to use the staff restaurant.