Barometer | 19 November 2011

• Found in the trash

The Information Commissioner warned Oliver Letwin that he has broken the law by dumping documents, including letters from constituents, into litter bins in St James’s Park. Here are some things the world would never have had were it not for documents turning up in rubbish bins:
—A letter suggesting that Elton John didn’t want ‘Candle in the Wind’ included on the tribute album to the Princess of Wales planned by Richard Branson
—A memo showing that Tony Blair was already worried that he was out of touch with the public in May 2000
—The text of Euripides’ play Melanippe the Wise
—The sketchbooks of the Austrian-born artist Hilda Goldwag

• Dissent over pensions

The unions Prospect (which represents engineers, scientists and other specialists) and the First Division Association (which represents senior civil servants) have voted to join the public sector strike over pensions, planned for 30 November. What percentage of their earnings do public sector workers contribute to their final salary pension schemes?

Civil servants who joined before 2002:	1.5
Civil servants who joined after 2002:	3.5
Civil servants (after planned reforms):	1.5 to 5.9
Teachers:	6.4
Doctors and nurses:	5 to 8.5
What private sector workers would have to contribute if they wanted to enjoy the same pension:	37

• Fuel for thought

Eighty Conservative MPs have signed a motion demanding that the Chancellor reduce road fuel duty. How much do we pay in tax for every gallon of road fuel compared with other countries?