As BBC News reports that the UK is dropping a ton of cash on building iPhone applications, it raises the question of whether such spending is necessary. £10,000 - £40,000 (about $15,200 - $60,700 USD) is being set aside for various i-projects, including a DVLA Motoring Masterclass application that “would also work out fuel mileage, act as a hazard light and track RAC patrols.”

BBC News reports on another government paid application, Jobscentre,

“By the end of May there were over 53,000 downloads of the Jobcentre Plus app, although critics have asked why someone who can afford both an iPhone and the expensive running costs would need a Jobcentre Plus app.”

The Jobcentre app is designed to help citizens find jobs, but some officials criticize these efforts as being merely gimmicks.

“It seems many Government bodies have given in to the temptation to spend money on fashionable gimmicks at a time when they are meant to be cutting back on self-indulgent wastes of money”, Taxpayer Payer’s Alliance campaign director Mark Wallace retorts. “Someone who is faced with losing their home because of high tax bills, or whose life is being ruined by crime isn’t going to get any reassurance from knowing there’s an app for that.”

And perhaps he’s right. While the government has already invested quite a large chunk of money into developing iPhone apps, recently Cabinet Office reported that all marketing and advertising spending would be frozen for the remainder of the year, which means no more developing iPhone apps. Is this a let down for the UK or should nothing have been developed in the first place?

[via BBC News]