UK Eyes Selling Off Its Weather Service
By
Bob Brewin
The <a href= http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/>Met Office,</a> the United Kingdom's version of the National Weather Service is on the sales block, the Times of London <a href= http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article6920675.ece>reported</a> yesterday.
The Met Office, the United Kingdom's version of the National Weather Service is on the sales block, the Times of London reported yesterday.
While the National Weather Service is operated by a federal agency - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - the Met Office is operated by the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the UK Government is considering its sale to raise some bucks.
MoD operates the Met Office on a commercial basis and has revenues of about $310 million a year. It has attracted the attention of at least one bidder, VT Group, a UK defense services company, which I guess would buy the Met Office and then sell it services back to the government on a piecemeal basis.
This seems to be as a really deep dive down the slippery slope of privatization, with the next logical step being the sale of the Royal Navy.
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