Due Diligence - oh, that's right, no one did much of that, did they?
My abiding memory is the Fake Sheik, demanding to speak at a meeting to which he wasn't invited, insisted that his main concern would have been with the shareholders, if he could afford to buy, which he couldn't, even the gold xrings on his fingers didn't belong to him. I've wronged him! Due disclosure right there!
Friends of Hastings Pier (FoHP), the group seeking return of the landmark asset to community ownership, have been told by owner Sheikh Gulzar that he wants £4m for it. -
Me too, so I decided to ask our sometime friend AI (Presumably Gemini, as it was via Google)
Capita has developed a reputation for poor service and operational failures, often nicknamed "Crapita" in the UK media and by the public, due to a consistent track record of failures in delivering major public sector contracts. Its reputation stems from a combination of high-profile data breaches, significant service delays, and mismanagement of public funds.
Here is a breakdown of why Capita is heavily criticized:
1. Significant Pension Disasters (2025–2026)
Civil Service Pension Fiasco: After taking over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) in December 2025, Capita struggled with a massive, inherited backlog of 86,000 cases, which grew after they took over.
Missed Payments: Thousands of retired civil servants experienced severe delays in receiving their pensions, with some waiting months for payments, leading to financial hardship.
Faulty Technology: The new online portal was criticized for being inoperable, inaccurate, and full of errors, forcing the company to rely on manual, slow processes.
Extremely Long Wait Times: Members reported being number 82 in the queue for phone support or being cut off entirely, leading to immense frustration.
2. Major Data Security Breach (2023)
£14m Fine: Following a 2023 cyberattack, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Capita £14 million after it was found that the company failed to secure data properly.
Wide Impact: The breach exposed personal data—including passport images and financial information—of over 6 million people, affecting around 90 organizations, including local councils and the NHS.
Poor Response: Investigations showed Capita took 58 hours to respond to a high-priority alert regarding the breach.
3. History of Failed Government Contracts
Army Recruitment Failures: Capita failed to meet Army recruitment targets every year, causing major service delivery issues.
NHS Support Service Issues: A deal to manage NHS primary care support was described as "doomed to fail" due to massive errors.
Other Failings: They have been criticized for issues with teacher pensions, court interpreter services, and tagging offender systems.
4. Poor Internal Operations and Culture
Understaffing: Reports indicate that in the months leading up to the 2023 cyberattack, the Security Operations Centre was understaffed.
Aggressive Cost-Cutting: Critics argue that Capita wins contracts with "stupidly low" bids and then cuts corners, resulting in a poor service quality-to-cost ratio.
Poor Employee Treatment: An index in 2024 named Capita the "worst major UK employer" due to high gender pay gaps and a high number of employment tribunals.
5. Why They Keep Winning Contracts
Despite these issues, Capita continues to secure public sector work because of their ability to underbid competitors and a procurement system that, in the past, did not heavily weigh past failures against new bids. However, this has created a pattern where the government often has to step in to manage, or take back, the services Capita has failed to deliver, as was the case with the Ministry of Defence, which terminated a contract five years early.
In the 2024/25 financial year, the BBC's commercial arm (primarilyBBC Studios) generated record revenues of£2.155 billion.
This money is earned through selling programmes, formats, and brands (likeBluey,Doctor Who, andDancing with the Stars) to other broadcasters, streaming platforms, and international markets, rather than through the UK license fee.
Key details regarding this income include:
Total Commercial Revenue: £2.155 billion in 2024/25.
Profit Returned to BBC: The commercial operations generated an EBITDA profit of £228 million in 2024/25, which is returned to the public service side to help fund programming.
Growth Driver: The record revenue was largely driven by global sales of the children's brand Bluey and growth in streaming services like BritBox International.
Total Revenue Context: This commercial income, along with the license fee (roughly £3.8bn), brought the total BBC Group income to approximately £5.9 billion in 2024/25.
While the commercial arm is booming, the BBC noted that this does not plug the entire gap left by a license fee that has seen reduced income in real terms since 2010.
Stop paying so-called (personally I haven't hear of most of them) celebrities (and others!) eye-waterinbg amounts of money.
Stop trying to compete with commercial channels with programmes which are puerile.
Think Value (in every sense of the word) for money
o Inform, Educate, and Entertain: This trinity, known as the "Reithian Principles," formed the mission statement of the BBC, prioritizing public service over profit.
Non-Commercial Public Service: The BBC was established as a non-commercial entity funded by a licence fee on receiving sets, rather than advertising revenue.
Universal Access: A key goal was to reach the entire population regardless of location or income, fostering a sense of national unity.
Independence: The charter granted the BBC a degree of independence from the government, despite its status as a public corporation, although early on it was neither "fully commanded nor free".
Impartiality: While not fully developed in 1927, the principle of providing balanced information, particularly in news, was built into the structure of the corporation to avoid bias.
