The Government has been urged to “stop treating taxpayers like an unlimited expense account” after a rise in spending on civil servants’ away days.
Government departments have been told to stop ‘wasting money on away days’ (Image: Getty)
The Government has been urged to “stop treating taxpayers like an unlimited expense account” after it emerged civil servants had spent £247,000 on away days so far this year. The taxpayer funds were spent across nine departments on hotel stays, theatre trips and football matches in the last nine months.
In one instance, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade was found to have spent over £45,000 on a single event at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Anna Strickland, spokesperson for the TaxPayers’ Alliance thinktank, said departments should “stop treating taxpayers like an unlimited expense account”.
She added: “Whitehall was told to stop wasting money on away days, yet officials are still booking football stadiums and four-star hotels. Spending £13,750 so colleagues can get to know each other better will look particularly ridiculous to taxpayers footing the bill.”
The Ministry of Justice was among the departments reportedly splashing tens of thousands on trips (Image: Getty)
The analysis from The Telegraph comes despite pledges last spring by then-Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden to “radically” reform the Civil Service.
Mr McFadden said Labour would ban spending on “unnecessary branded merchandise and staff ‘away days'” to focus on funding “frontline public resources, kick-starting economic growth, rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders”.
Instead, average monthly spending on senior Civil Service away days has nearly tripled this year compared to Labour’s first three months in office, rising from around £10,000 to around £27,000, as per The Telegraph.
Other departmental spending included the Ministry of Justice allocating over £34,000 to an event held at a theatre in Birmingham focused on “strengthening performance, leadership and culture across the organisation”.
A Government spokesperson said: “While staff events can strengthen collaboration and productivity, every pound spent must offer value for taxpayers. We have introduced stricter controls requiring events to use free Government venues as standard.
“External venues are permitted only in exceptional circumstances, and teams must show how using them delivers value for money and advances public priorities.”
