Expensive prisons

Danish prisons are twice as expensive to run as prisons in Germany, according to a study compiled by the government. Danish prisons have 75 percent more staff than their German counterparts and there is less competition. As a result, the government is looking into privatising large parts of the correctional system. – Politiken

Fraud crippling Afghan police project

The Danish-supported LOFTA police program in Afghanistan has for years been plagued by rampant fraud without donor countries finding out. A recent internal investigation revealed that the fraud has been going on since at least 2005 and has cost between four and nine million kroner. Development-aid experts argued that the situation was an example of how little Denmark controls their aid. – Information

Thousands of children live in poverty

Around 12,000 children are living under the new poverty line established by the government this week. According the figures from the left-leaning think tank AE, the number of poor children trebled between 2001 and 2011. The social affairs minister, Karen Hækkerup (Socialdemokraterne), wants an annual report on the numbers of poor. – Berlingske

Government to check own reforms

The finance minister, Margrethe Vestager (Radikale), and Henrik Sass Larsen (Socialdemokraterne) one of six of parliament’s auditors, have teamed up to make sure the government’s steady stream of reforms have the intended effect. Vestager has proposed that the state auditors function as a kind of watchdog and monitor whether the government’s reforms actually work as desired. – Jyllands-Posten

Still waiting for trains

Only 19 of the 73 IC4 trains delivered to DSB from the Italian producer AnsaldoBreda, are in service. The rest are being repaired or renovated, waiting to be re-built, being inspected or having their computers upgraded. An additional 10 IC4 trains are due to be delivered. All 83 were due to be in service by 2006. – Ingeniøren

Eminence Corydon

Berlingske Business Magazine has named the finance minister, Bjarne Corydon (Socialdemokraterne), as the most powerful man in the country. Following Corydon in the annual ranking were the economy minister, Margrethe Vestager (Radikale), and the prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne). The only other politician on the list, opposition leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Venstre), came in sixth. – Berlingske

Swansea cut ties to Laudrup agent

Swansea has stoked rumours of a growing conflict between the Welsh club and manager Michael Laudrup conflict after expressing concern about the influence of his agent, Bayram Tutumlu. According to Swansea, Tutumlu has made efforts to control the club’s transfer policies. Tutumlu has been Laudrup’s agent since he played for Barcelona in the 1990s. – Tipsbladet