British government comes under fire for wasting hundreds of thousands on iPhone apps

It seems the iPhone App bubble with its irrational exuberance which demolishes all logic has also affected the British government.

After a Freedom of Information request by the BBC it was revealed various government departments have been spending tens of thousands of pounds on a handful of smartphone apps, including £40,000 on an application to teach drivers how to change a tire and more than £32 000 on a jobseeker app.

Of course in the bigger scheme of things a few hundred thousand pounds is nothing in terms of government spending, but with only 2.5 million iPhones in UK the applications serve less than 3.5% of the UK population, meaning the vast majority of people are paying to expand Steve Jobs’s app store for the very few, likely very rich.

Fortunately the new government, who have been voted in on a mandate of cost saving, seems to have come to their senses somewhat, saying:

“The Government recently announced a freeze on all marketing and advertising spend for this year and this includes iPhone applications. While the Government wants to ensure that information and services are available in the most efficient and convenient forms, future spend on iPhone development will be subject to strict controls: only essential activity, approved by the Efficiency and Reform Group, which is chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will be allowed.”

A bit more due diligence in App development would needs to spread much further than just unfortunately.

Read more at the BBC here, and use the comments there to let readers know how you feel about your tax money going to subsidize apps you, and most other people, cant use.