Taxpayers pick up bill as ministers travel first class

GOVERNMENT departments have spent at least £870,000 on first class rail tickets in the past three years, official figures show.

Taxpayers have also forked out £8.2million for taxis used by ministers and civil servants over the same period.

Labour said the public would be shocked at the level of spending during a pandemic and cost of living crisis.

The Cabinet Office is the biggest spender on first class rail, having bought £110,000 worth of tickets since the start of 2020.

It has also racked up the second highest bill for taxis during that time, totalling more than £2.8million.

The Department for Education spent just under £80,000 on first class tickets, including £30,000 this year.

Much of the overall cost was made up by the Ministry of Justice, which funds train travel for members of the judiciary. It has footed a £600,000 rail bill for judges over the past three years.

The Foreign Office racked up a £4.3million invoice for taxis, while the Department for Education spent £950,000. Even the Treasury, the guardian of the public finances, forked out £150,000 for cab rides.

In most cases travel costs tumbled when meetings were moved online for Covid and they have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. One exception is the International Trade Department which has spent £100,000 on taxis this year, twice the amount it spent in 2020.

Jon Trickett, the Labour MP who obtained the figures, said: “Racking up £8.2million on fares at the taxpayers’ expense is beyond excessive.”

Government guidelines say all rail travel should be standard class and there must be a “robust business justification” for going first. Ministers are allowed to book the most expensive tickets if they need to “carry out government business in relative privacy”.

Taxis can be used by staff to get home if they have had to work late, and when public transport is disrupted by strikes.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are committed to using public money responsibly.”

The Ministry of Justice said travelling first class “will often provide the appropriate level of working conditions and privacy for judges”.