The cost of rational treasure

Cutting red tape is a tricky business, but it appears that auditing bodies feel it more acutely than most. According to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education's annual accounts, "rationalising regulation" cost £686,221 alone in 2005-06, about £200,000 more than the previous year. Peep wonders whether universities being evaluated will notice the newly pared-down bureaucracy.