Mandarin's £¼m credit card bill

THE UK government has been forced to defend credit card spending of almost £250,000 of taxpayers' money by the culture department.

Labour has said some of the spending, which included rail and air fares and hotel bills, but also meals in restaurants and bars and smaller items from coffee shops, florists and DIY stores, was "questionable" at a time of cutbacks.

But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) insisted that the use of cards by officials was closely monitored to ensure value for taxpayers' money.

The figures form part of an estimated 1 billion-a-year expenditure on 140,000 government "procurement cards" circulating in Whitehall.

The cards were introduced to cut down on administration costs by allowing civil servants to purchase small items needed for work without having to claim them back on expenses.

Labour treasury spokesman Chris Leslie said: "Voters will be shocked to see these questionable purchases after all the government's tough talk about cracking down on waste and inefficiency.

"When child benefit is being cut and beds are being closed in hospitals, it is absolutely right that we should be watching every penny."

A DCMS spokesman said: "Procurement cards are a good way of allowing staff to make small purchases and settle work-related bills, with the minimum of red tape and extra cost.

"We have procedures in place that monitor all departmental expenditure closely to ensure value-for-money is provided."