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Royal spending and carbon footprint.
KittyTinker
Member Posts: 77 Pioneering
Am I on my own to feel really really cross about the latest royal accounts. I must say I have a soft spot for the queen, just because she’s an old lady still working however my father in law is 85 and still helps me in the garden. However the rest of them I really resent financing their jollies, home improvements and private healthcare when the rest of us are being treated like fools. Please feel free to delete this post if it’s too political. I just wondered if I’m on my own!
Replies
Apparently not.
The Queen’s official expenditure is met from public funds in exchange for the surrender by The Queen of the revenue from the Crown Estate. The Core Sovereign Grant is calculated based on 15% of the income account net surplus of the Crown Estate for the financial year two years previous. The Crown Estate surplus for the financial year 2016-17 amounted to £328.8 million, thereby producing a Core Sovereign Grant of £49.3 million for 2018-19.
So the Queen hands over £328.8 million to the treasury and is given an official grant of 15% to cover her costs.
This was upped to 25% with the additional 10% to cover ongoing works to palaces that are in use, like Buckingham Palace. I wonder how many people would happily hand over their income and accept a 15% grant and then be subject to public scrutiny on how we spend it, where we live or what we do with our lives.
The truth is this is not costing the public anything and comes from the Queens own income, with the vast majority of the money going to the Treasury.
Of course there is no way of knowing how much of 'our' money they are spending, and the Crown Estates are not their only source of income. For example the Duchy of Lancaster:
Duchy of Lancaster Income from the Duchy of Lancaster forms part of The Queen's Privy Purse income. The Privy Purse is a historical term used to describe The Queen's private income and it is largely used to meet official expenditure incurred by Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family which is not met by the Sovereign Grant, and is taxed to the extent that the income is not used for official purposes.
Unless you look at the various published accounts that are freely available online.
@KittyTinker, sorry but for me this is a non story being drummed up by the media.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Nice story, but from the context of this discussion are you inferring this was an abuse of the queen's authority or one of the courtiers? Unlikely.
Personally I don't have any strong feelings regarding the royal family. I do believe they provide good value for money, and contribute a huge amount to the economy both directly and indirectly. However if, as a country, we want to get rid of the monarchy give them back their finances and property and stop treating them like a government department. That way they can pay 45% taxes instead of 75%
Get rid of the pomp and ceremony which attracts so many overseas visitors. The diplomatic advantages and world stage showcase which promotes the best of Britain. Plus all the tat which is created around special events. At least we might be spared the sight of this:
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Well our views differ and that is fine, nor did I think what you said was untrue. I just happen to believe that the decision would have been taken by the police officers protecting the royal family that this was the most appropriate use of resources while maintaining security.
The UK has not pledged to cut carbon emissions to zero at any point. We have pledged to to cut our footprint to net zero carbon emissions. Or as it has been called previously carbon offsetting. Interesting though that you choose to focus on the royal family, especially as for decades Prince Charles has been ridiculed for his warnings about the environment and climate change.
I would agree with you if his use of a private jet was down purely to personal choice and frivolous. But like many of these stories we get half the information, he used a private jet x number of times. What we don't get is if there was a good reason for using this choice or not. Once the two parts of the equation is disclosed then I will decide if it is a waste of money or not, or if indeed he is deliberately choosing to increase his carbon footprint simply for comfort.
As for the 'free jollies' these are instigated on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They provide an integral part in strengthening our relationships with other countries. At a point in time where we are trying to cut ourselves off from our major trading partners to make our own way in the world I can see where it would make sense to either get rid off these duties from the royal family or at least drastically reduce them.
At least if we got rid off the royal family we could put an end to royal patronage of charities and events. That quaint traditional aspect of royalty which allows charities to have a bigger profile than they might otherwise have. Some are big names, others not so. Lesser known charities deal with child mental health, arthritis, homelessness, breaking addictions, osteoporosis and many other issues. Over 2000 charities are supported by royal family, including those often considered as superfluous. While some of them are inherited by the monarchy, most follow interests of the person who gives their patronage.
As I said, they contribute to the economy in many ways both directly and indirectly.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Cat or dog? We have a cat and my daughter uses Vanish Gold Carpet Cleaner which seems to work well. If this is likely to be a regular occurrence then getting a decent carpet cleaner could be a good investment. Your friend can see a recent review of carpet cleaners at https://uk.bestreviews.guide/carpet-cleaners?
Some have other uses that may help to offset the cost and make the additional purchase worth while. I hope your friend finds a better solution than the landfill.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
There are booties you can buy dogs, and they are hilarious when they first try them on, but they do tend to get used to them.
How are you doing, hope you had a good weekend.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
I've been out of sorts for a few days, so the weekend I spent a lot of down time. So things were fairly peaceful. My boss let me change my contracted day off, so was off Friday and meant to work from home today, however the system was not working properly so did not manage to get on until 3.30 this afternoon. Back to work tomorrow so hopefully things will get back to normal.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!