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Lingerie, Domino’s pizzas and a £1400 stay at the Dorchester: What …

June 22, 2012 by  
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  • 757 staff at Essex County Council have use of ‘purchase cards’
  • Receipts show £645 spent on cosmetics, £3,600 in takeaway pizza orders and £3,830 spent in bars and nightclubs
  • Since 2009, council has doubled number of purchase cards in use from 295 to 757

By
Graham Smith


PUBLISHED:

07:09 EST, 21 June 2012

|

UPDATED:

09:25 EST, 21 June 2012

Staff at a cash-strapped council have spent more than £5million on takeaway pizzas, cosmetics, nightclubs and lingerie using company credit cards, it has emerged.

Bosses at Essex County Council allowed 757 employees the use of council purchase cards, resulting in costly shopping sprees at the taxpayer’s expense.

The receipts include £644.45 on cosmetics; £3,600 ordering from Domino’s Pizza; £87,023.20 on costly hotel stays; £52,868.60 on theatre tickets and £3,827.21 spent in local bars and nightclubs.

Luxury: Staff at Essex County Council spent more than £5million on council credit cards in two years, including a £1,400 stay at the Dorchester hotel in London (pictured)

Luxury: Staff at Essex County Council spent more than £5million on council credit cards in two years, including a £1,400 stay at the Dorchester hotel in London (pictured)

Council staff have also enjoyed living the high life with a £1,400 stay at five-star London hotel The Dorchester.

They have also made three trips to Five Lakes Golf Country Club in Maldon, Essex, at a total cost of £2,200 to the taxpayer.

Over a 27-month period between December 2009 and April 2012 officers racked up a whopping £5,136,145 in spending.

Robert Oxley, from the Taxpayers’
Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will be left gobsmacked that their money has
been spent on the council living it up at nightclubs plus stays at
five-star hotels, shoe-shining and even hat cleaning.

‘Residents
will be left wondering why they are picking up bills totalling tens of
thousands of pounds at country clubs, florists, bakeries and record
shops.

‘The receipts suggest officers at Essex County Council have been enjoying the high life at taxpayers’ expense.’

Lingerie: One receipt shows a staff member spent £17.50 at women's underwear store La Senza - the council claims this was to buy clothes for a child in care

Lingerie: One receipt shows a staff member spent £17.50 at women’s underwear store La Senza – the council claims this was to buy clothes for a child in care

The spending figures – released following a Freedom of Information request – come just two months after a damning report from the Audit Commission slamming Essex County Council for ‘a lack of control over corporate credit cards’ dating back to 2009.

Last year, the council cut 450 jobs after slashing its annual budget by £98million as part of sweeping cutbacks.

Takeaways: Council staff spent £3,600 ordering from Domino's Pizza

Takeaways: Council staff spent £3,600 ordering from Domino’s Pizza

Purchase cards were first brought in as a ‘cost-effective method for low-value purchases’ with staff warned they were not for personal use.

But since 2009, the number of purchase cards in use at the council has more than doubled from 295 to 757.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: ‘People at Essex County Council need to realise that it isn’t Essex’s money, it isn’t the Government’s money, it is the public’s money and the public have a right to know how it is being spent.

‘I’m sure Essex will now look carefully at the number of people holding these cards because it strikes me as excessive.

‘If they do that, you are not likely to get money spent on cosmetics and McDonald’s.’

Essex County Council today defended its spending, claiming much of the money was used to cover expenditure for children in their care.

A spokesman for Essex County Council today defended its spending, claiming much of the money was used to cover expenditure for children in their care

A spokesman for Essex County Council today defended its spending, claiming much of the money was used to cover expenditure for children in their care

A spokesperson said: ‘Essex County Council has a robust policy relating to spend on P-cards and all P-card holders must be given authorisation by a senior manager to carry out such transactions.

Council boss: Chief executive Joanna Killian

Council boss: Chief executive Joanna Killian

‘The P-cards are used by officers working across all the council’s services, including schools, children’s homes and our country parks.

‘Our Looked After Children teams take on the role of a parent for these children and are responsible for their daily care needs while they are under the care of the county council’s children’s social services.

‘Approximately 750 of the 41,000 officers employed by Essex County Council have a card and expenditure on them only relates to a small proportion of our overall budget.’

When asked to explain £17.50 spent at lingerie store La Senza, the council argued it was used to buy clothes for a child in care.

Other shopping trips included £1,000 spent in luxury London department store Harrods during a care trip for children with disabilities.

Selina Huang, 23, who works at a Chinese restaurant in Chelmsford, said: ‘What the staff at County Hall are doing with the money is so bad.

‘I work very hard every day, and I am so tired, and then they take my tax money and go to a nightclub.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
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these cards should be stopped and the person responsable for there issue should be sacked but to defend there use in this way is to say the least inexcusable the council bureaucrats and managment should be replaced whithout any pay offs come on eric pickles do your job

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Council workers, public servants they are all the same……greedy. Why do they have a credit card, whatever happened to Petty Cash and bringing back receipts for expenses. Once again its not their own money so they don´t care. Spend, spend , spend. Time that all councils and government displayed a balance sheet for the general public so they can see where their (the taxpayers) money is being spent.

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Are their accounts not audited? Why did the auditor not raise concerns about such a high level of spending of public money on credit cards? Incidentally, I notice essex are very careful not to say what percentage of this spending was for children in care.

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They also let staff lease luxury sports cars which are heavily subsidised by the council (i.e. the taxpayer) who pay 66% of the lease charges.

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They should be prosecuted. This is stealing from public purse.

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HOW CAN YOU STOP IT WHEN YOU HAVE PIGS IN CHARGE OF PIGS ,THEY ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER.

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Also, we are still paying for the accommodation for the Afghan hi-jackers who the useless Jack Straw said he was sending straight back to Afghanistan.

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Is there an ombudsman we could get involved. !

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What was that about “insufficient funds to care for our elderly in the future” . Considering that over 2 million pensioners are existing on around £6,000 per year, stay in their overcoats and switch off the heating so that they can afford to eat, this is disgraceful. It should be paid back into the public purse immediately with the amounts deducted from the staff concerned.

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Maybe all essex tax payers should refuse to pay up until this is fully investigated by police.IT IS FRAUDULENT.Then demand a substacial cut in council tax.Scrap these cards they are clearly being missused.Seems that being a councilor is equal to being a government minister where it is an expences free for all.except the tax payer picking up the final bil.

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