Welsh Government staff splashed out thousands on meals in New York (original) (raw)

The amount spent on Welsh Government procurement cards - including on items like including food, travel and hospitality - almost doubled to £1.49m in recently released figures covering April, 2022-23. During that time, Mark Drakeford was Wales' FIrst Minister. The same figure for the year before was £821,871.38.

The procurement cards detail the amount, a limited description, and where the money was spent. There are different types of procurement cards used by Welsh Government, some by individuals, some departmental and others to use for a specific supplier. There are strict rules about what the cards can be used for.

The costs, from 2022-23, are broken down into groups; including building maintenance, car hire, catering, consumables, hospitality, events, fixtures and fittings, fuel, health and safety, ICT, licences, marketing support, office equipment, postage, printing, membership fees, publications, stationary, subscription fees, training and development, travel and subsistence, travel, vehicle maintenance and welfare. For the latest analysis of the biggest stories, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here

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The biggest bills included a £16k restaurant bill

The most expensive item claimed for was a food bill for exclusive New York restaurant Zou Zou's which totalled £15,933.45. There was also £13,006 to Qatar Airways, booked the month before the World Cup for which Wales qualified and which Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething both attended. The third highest claims were for Certas Energy, which supplies fuel.

There was a £6,966 bill for Japan Airlines in July, 2022, and two further Japan AIrlines bills from September, 2022, of £4,946.47 each, as well as £4,598 to All Nippon Airways.

There was a £6,806 bill for the four-star Roxy Hotel in New York as well as more than £6,800 on training by livegroup.co.uk and a £4,999 bill for InspiredMinds, described on its website as "a global tech and science strategy group focused on AI4Good" and £4,466 to S&P Global for "publications".

The Canadian Rugby Union also received £3,879 in sponsorship, the figures show.

Thousands spent on hospitality at hotels

Top of the list, in terms of expense, was the £15,933.45 bill at ZouZou's, a restaurant in Manhattan described as providing foods from "some of the most notable culinary names in the city" from April, 2022. That was an event to promote Wales for St David's Day. The venue has a menu with salads for 29upwards,wholelobsterkebabfor29 upwards, whole lobster kebab for 29upwards,wholelobsterkebabfor51 and French fries for $12.

More than £5,100 was spent at the swanky Soho House in West Hollywood.

In February, 2023, there was £2,895.47 spent on catering in the Radisson Blu in Doha with further charges in Doha at the five star St Regis (£779 and two £194 charges in May, 2022), as well as £141 at the W Doha Hotels and Residence in November, 2022, and a charge of £84 in the same month. There was spending at the Hilton in Doha (£69) and more at the W and Best Western and Intercontinental also during the World Cup period.

Irish company Naomi's Kitchen had two charges for more than £2,700 each. There was £1,541 spent at Chez Fonfon in Marseilles, more than £3,000 to the Underground Chef and at the five star Vivanta Bhubaneswar more than £1,000 was spent.

There was more than £2,300 spent in a New York pub group called Donnelly's and a bill of £1,800 in Il Gattopardo, London. There were numerous claims from Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, M&S and the Welsh Parliament too.

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Travel costs also hit thousands

There are charges from cities around the world, including from New Jersey, Birmingham Alabama, Tokyo, New Orleans, Barcelona, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Toronto. Closer to home there are travel bills from BIrmingham, Wrexham, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Heathrow.

The highest item labelled "travel and subsistence" is for £7,161 at steakhouse Smith & Wollensky, which has venues across the US and also London, but no further detail is given about what this related to. The second highest spend in the same category was more than £3,400 at the Roxy Hotel in New York City and almost £7,000 for New York restaurant Manhatta.

There was a £3,199 bill from the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai in February, 2023, and £3,183 to Groupe Voyages Quebec, a travel agent in Canada. More than £3,000 was spent on Eurostar tickets in February and March, 2023.

Even Manchester United received thousands

There was a £3,050 charge to Manchester United, for what was described as "consumables" and more than £3,000 for training with a speechwriting agency.

In February, 2023, £900 was spent at Cardiff-based Lush Blooms and another £406 at the Covent Garden flower shop, also in Cardiff, as well as £109 in a Munich florist, and there was a £511 bill for wristbands. There was £281 spent at printing site Vistaprint, £180 at Framing Direct

There are a number of charges for various opticians, including Specsavers, Visionplus and Boots, as well as independent opticians. There was a £33 charge for teabags from the Welsh Brew company and £16.96 from "Party Britain" with £20 spent at Luv-a-Duck designs. There was also a £241 charge for Celtic Flag Services and a further for £129.

The Welsh Government said the comparison between the years compared a Covid-pandemic era with a year where there were no restrictions. Large amounts of fuel costs are said to fund Welsh fishery vessels.

A spokesman said: "Procurement cards reduce administration costs and are used by government departments across the UK. We have rigorous processes in place to limit, monitor and control their use. Transactions are reviewed, require approval by senior managers and are subject to regular internal audit. Transparency is important and we publish detailed information on procurement card use every year.

"Examples of procurement card use include fuelling and maintaining the Welsh Government fisheries protection vessels, renewal of software licences, health and safety related expenditure and overseas events and exhibitions to promote Wales , including extensive St David’s Day activities.

"The latest figures reflect a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel and promotional activity.”

How the figures break down