Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy is absolutely outraged by the amount of money spent by the Welsh Government on items like travel and hospitality.
It has been revealed that in the period April 2022-2023 the Welsh Government have spent £1.49m on expenses – this is almost double the year before.
However, the highest expense claimed was a food bill amounting to £15,933.45 at the exclusive New York restaurant, Zou Zou's. This was followed by a £6,806 bill for the four-star Roxy Hotel in Downtown New York.
In total, there was almost £375,000 spent on “travel and subsistence” at places across the world, with another £261,000 of charges for travel. Claims labelled "accommodation and travel" added another £11,964.
Commenting on the news Janet said:
“I am absolutely outraged by these expenses. Luxury hotels, swanky restaurants and trips around the world.
“I mean why on earth is the taxpayer funding a £16,000 meal at a posh restaurant in New York where one can enjoy tuna tartare for $22, caramelised cabbage for $28 or a lobster kabab for $53!
“When the Welsh Government are so keen to tell everyone else they must watch what they spend, why on earth is the public purse being spent on fillet mignon?!
“It is simply a disgrace and this should utterly shame the Welsh Government.
“I also see that the highest item labelled in "travel and subsistence" is for £7,161 at steakhouse Smith and Wollensky, which has venues across the US and also London, however no further detail has been given about what this related to. This surely should be investigated to understand what was the benefit here.
“The idea that Mark Drakeford, Vaughan Gething and whoever else has been gorging on fine food at the taxpayers’ expense is deeply concerning. There are charges from cities around the world, from New Jersey, Birmingham Alabama, Tokyo, New Orleans, Barcelona, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Toronto.
“This clearly reveals a culture of decadence and excess not seen since the horrors of the expenses scandal. The public should be outraged by this and calling on the Welsh Government to explain why they have been so greedy and nonchalant with the public purse.”
ENDS
