As part of our campaign for better transparency and accountability in Quango spending, the TaxPayers’ Alliance can reveal the three and a half million pounds the Child Support Agency has spent on its taxpayer-funded credit cards over the last two years.
As reported in this weekend's Sunday Express, this spending includes luxury hotels, fine dining and spending at retail outlets such as Apple and Amazon.
Click here for the full breakdown of spending data
The key findings include:
- A total of £3,658,533 spent on taxpayer-funded credit cards in the past two years
- Over £52,000 spent on Google in one year alone
- Nearly £10,000 spent on luxury serviced apartments
- £4,755 spent at Malmaison
- More than £17,000 spent at sandwich shops
- In one purchase £400 was spent at Chocca Mocca who produce “an exciting portfolio of sumptuous fruits and nuts smothered in top-notch chocolate”
- £2,700 spent at Amazon, £388 spent at the Apple Store and dinner at the exclusive Cinnamon Club
Click here for the full breakdown of spending data
Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said:
“When so many parents have been failed by the longstanding failures of the Child Support Agency, taxpayers will be outraged that bosses at the organisation appear to have been enjoying fine dining and luxury hotels at taxpayers’ expense. Government procurement cards are an important tool to make expenses more efficient, but spending needs to be published so that quangos can be held to account for this kind of spending. At a time when there is so much pressure on everyone’s finances, there is no excuse for lavish expenses.”