UK Royal Family-A Simple Question-01-23-2012

http://www.presstv.ir/Program/222815.html

At a time when austerity and public spending cuts threaten the very pillars of our welfare state, substantial hidden costs of maintaining a royal family remain.

Funding to the royal household has decreased in real terms since the recession hit in 2008-2009, with the income from public funds at its lowest of £32.1m in 2011.

However, reports from the campaign group Republic place the actual cost of the monarchy to the taxpayer at nearly five times the official sum at £202.3m.

The expenditure not revealed to the public in the headline sum reflects the high cost of security, travel and receptions by local councils for members of the royal family. Can such costs at the expense of taxpayer be justified any longer?

Has it even become morally questionable that the monarchy continues to receive public funding when cuts to healthcare services and education are being made?
With the recent passing of the Sovereign Grant Act in October 2011, aimed at reforming the 40 year old funding system, it is expected that Parliament will have greater scrutiny over grant expenditure.

However, as the monarchy continues to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and the public denied the truth about how their tax money is spent by the royal household, should the Sovereign Grant Act be considered as just the beginning in the deconstruction of an increasingly arcane system?

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