Civil servants are to endure a clampdown on their use of taxpayers’ money after groups were found to be spending thousands of pounds on “luxury” items and trips.
This week Cabinet minister Pat McFadden will reveal his plan to crackdown on civil servants’ use of Government credit cards.
Records show how high-ranking officials have accumulated significant expenses at a yachting club in Barbados and with a company offering life-size cardboard cutouts of celebrities.
The action comes following years of Labour publicly lambasting the Conservative Government for their outlandish use of official department money.
McFadden announced that he would launch an urgent review into the use of government money
PA
However, the Labour Government has faced vast amounts of criticism that the same outrageous spending has continued on their watch.
McFadden announced that he would launch an urgent review into the use of government money after the news broke that civil servants’ spending breached official rules.
One of the awkward payments happened right under his nose when the Cabinet Office shelled out almost £2,000 on a course on “value for money” – mere weeks after entering office.
Other reports have revealed that the Department for Education spent £7,230 on luxury hotel chain Marriott for an “away day” for government employees.
December was a seemingly frivolous moment for civil servants, when the Foreign Office spent more than £10,000 at John Lewis and £1,300 on Fortnum & Mason.
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At around the same time, the housing department spent over £600 on renting out a meeting space at a city farm which was just one mile away from the department’s central London offices.
Another peculiar expenditure was a £4,100 bill for a swimming pool cleaning service, while there was another £650 invoice for a specialist chandelier firm.
Meanwhile, while the Conservative Government was in power, civil servants at the Foreign Office spent almost £1,000 at the Nassau Yacht Club in Barbados, and another grand at a Toronto bowling club.
Similar bills were racked up for a firm which sells celebrity cardboard cut outs, including those of Harry Styles, George Michael and the Spice Girls.
Another peculiar expenditure was a £4,100 bill for a swimming pool cleaning service, while there was another £650 invoice for a specialist chandelier firm
PA
A Labour source said: “We will not allow taxpayers’ money to be frittered away in this irresponsible way.
“We will be ruthless in tackling the waste to which the Tories turned a blind eye, so we can prioritise cash on more hospital appointments, teachers in classrooms and police back on the beat.
“To get a grip on the problem, Pat McFadden has ordered an urgent review of who has access to these government credit cards and what they can be used to purchase. We will set out more action in the coming weeks.”
A Government spokesman said: “We are fully focused on tackling wasteful spending and inefficiency across government.
“That’s why we are carrying out huge reforms to create an agile and productive state. We are fundamentally changing the way public services, civil servants and the UK deliver for the public, building on the first eight months of the Government’s agenda.”