55 billion

The massive rises in the cost of new privately financed schools – obtained under the Freedom of Information Act – have contributed to the bill for the government's flagship school rebuilding programme spiralling from £45bn to £55bn, new research reveals that authorities in the later stages of the scheme have seen costs rise by an average of 50% just to set up a school building deal.
Half of all councils admitted that they had already seen costs rise, with councils more than 18 months into the programme expecting to spend £36m more than the £78m they first budgeted, an increase of 46%. Critics have long claimed that BSF is too complex and imposes unnecessary delays and costs on councils. The programme began in 2004 with the aim of rebuilding half of all secondary schools, remodelling just over a third and refurbishing the rest. But just 42 of the planned 200 schools were rebuilt in the first four years of the scheme.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/30/building-schools-future-planning-costs

For original photo under creative commons by pit-yacker click here

Numberzz is back after a summer break!

£32 billion

No need to say anything…

Overground Percentage increase

Transport for London demonstrate a basic lack of understanding of how percentages work:
London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: 'The new trains will play a vital role in providing transport for Olympic spectators and are a dramatic improvement on the trains we inherited.

'By 2011 we will be able to add a fourth carriage, increasing capacity by 50 per cent.

As most people know its an increase of 33.3% really.