Health bureaucrats have been getting some heat for dropping thousands on an away day at the fancy Oval cricket ground, just a hop, skip, and jump away from their Whitehall HQ. The Department of Health crew coughed up a whopping £3,150 to rent out a function room for a “professional development day” back in September of last year. The posh Kia Oval in London was the venue of choice for this shindig, even though their main office is a mere mile-and-a-half away across the River Thames in Whitehall. Rumor has it that they didn’t even bother catching a cricket match while they were there.
TaxPayers’ Alliance’s media campaign manager, William Yarwood, didn’t hold back, saying, “Folks footing the bill will scratch their heads wondering why these officials thought it was a-okay to splurge over £3,000 on a day out so close to their own workplace. Even if they didn’t spend the day watching cricket, there’s really no excuse for this kind of extravagant spending when money is tight.” He went on to commend the government for cracking down on government credit card use but warned that they need to keep a close eye on civil servants to prevent them from slipping back into their old ways.
The Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson chimed in, stating, “After this spending spree, we’ve tightened the reins on away day expenditures at external venues. All government departments and public bodies have been given the order to put a freeze on almost all government credit cards, and strict new guidelines have been put in place for civil servants seeking to use them again.” Not really sure why this matters, but it seems like they’re trying to show they’re taking steps to prevent any more lavish outings on the taxpayer’s dime. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like they could have saved everyone the trouble by just having a team-building day in the office cafeteria. Just saying.
