Government’s £7.5m credit card bill included luxury lingerie purchases
WELSH Government credit cards were used to spend more than £100 in high-end lingerie shop Victoria’s Secret, it has emerged.
The cards – known as procurement cards – were also used to pay for £370 of luxury yachtwear, iTunes subscriptions totalling £377.32, more than £1,500 of Welsh cakes, and a ToysRUs transaction of nearly £280.
The purchases are outlined in a 259-page document showing the £1.4m that was spent on the 237 active cards in the 2015-16 financial year.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said the purchases were “in line with Welsh Government business objectives”.
However, he said the £103.91 spent in Victoria’s Secret – who advertise their products as the “sexiest bras, lingerie and women’s fashion” – had been repaid after an investigation found it was “fraudulent”.
The figures, revealed following a freedom of information request, show nearly £7.5m has been spent on the cards over the past five years – an average of £1.5m a year.
The transactions over the last year include a £370.70 purchase from luxury yacht-wear Yachtshop.co.uk.
Bills for accommodation included stays worth £9,043.79 at the Raffles Hotel in Beijing and £1,450.76 at the £300-anight Hotel New Otani in Tokyo. Two transactions at the InterContinental Hotel in Qatari capital Doha also featured. Transactions at Ikea, Specsavers, and WelshWhisky.co.uk are among thousands of others listed alongside spending featuring parking, transport, and food and drink.
Meals included purchases at the likes of Domino’s, Subway, Carluccio’s, and Pizza Express while transport costs featured flights, trains, and appbased taxi service Uber.
Fast food like McDonalds and Burger King featured on the list – as did trendy burger retailer Byron. There were also magazine subscriptions including two separate transactions for The Economist. Specialist online bag retailer Bags4Everything also featured in the list with a £45.99 purchase.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Nick Ramsay, store said: “Huge sums of public money continue to be spent on Welsh Government credit cards, with staff having racked up £7.5m in bills since 2011.
“While we accept that procurement cards have a role to play in reducing the bureaucratic cost of processing small claims the number of staff with access to them continues to grow and some of the claims involved are eyewatering.
“Millions of pounds are being spent on these cards and the public needs to have confidence that the system isn’t being abused and that the taxpayer is getting value for money.”
He cited the three payments for accommodation at the Hotel New Otani, which features a luxurious Japanese garden with waterfalls.
Mr Ramsay claimed the hotel was more appropriate for honeymooners than civil servants. He said: “While staff will legitimately require accommodation when travelling abroad members of the public may question the need to stay in lavish hotels. Staff and ministers need to be mindful of what constitutes a necessary and legitimate expense.”
Lee Canning, Wales co- ordinator for the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers’ money is meant to pay for essential services.
“Hard-pressed families across Wales will be shocked to the core that part of a huge £7.5m procurement card bill which they will be picking up has gone towards luxury items and expensive hotel stays which many cannot afford themselves. When times are hard and every department is having to find necessary savings this level of profligacy is utterly irresponsible and disrespectful.
“People expect their taxes to pay for hospitals and roads – not to be wasted on lingerie and luxuries.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The use of procurement cards is common across all central government departments in the UK. They are an efficient way of ordering and paying for small value goods and services, and reduce administration costs.
“All purchases made are reviewed and approved retrospectively by line managers and subject to regular audit.
“We are content that transactions are in line with Welsh Government business objectives.”