Of late the bad weather has prevented me from spending as much time as usual in cycling and walking activities. Given a choice between helping with the housework, or "playing" on the internet, I have (surprise surprise), opted for playing on the internet. As a result I have become a little interested in the many "Statistics" which are published on an almost daily basis.
In most cases it would appear that guestimates would be a more appropriate word to use.
Crime czar Louise Casey has been giving forth on the cost of dealing with "problem families" and anti-social behaviour (a figure of £330,000 per year per family is quoted) no doubt Gordon will love this since has already blamed him for the growth of yob culture. Interesting to see a return to the use of the phrase "problem families", I thought they were called "socially disadvantged members of society" in this Politically Correct age.
While blundering around Google, looking for figures to support (or otherwise), the above claims (which I did not succeed in doing), I stumbled upon another gem.
An organisation called UKDPC (UK Drug Policy Commission) claims that an estimated 1.5 million adults are supporting or caring for a problem drug user in the UK, and are shouldering a financial burden of £1.8 billion every year. They go on to say if they (the affected families) did not provide that support, it would cost the state an estimated extra £750 million per year. We are told by Roger Howard, chief executive of the UKDPC, that investment in the affected families, is likely to save the state, money in the long run. This all appears to be based on a report produced I think by the University of York. The words "estimate" and "assumption" occur (very) frequently in the report. Draw your own conclusions.
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