The head of the Cabinet Office, Cat Little, has written a letter to permanent secretaries at government departments telling them to cut back on spending that is ‘difficult to justify’
Cat Little, chief operating officer for the Civil Service and permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office is clamping down on overspending by civil servants on credit cards. Little has told department heads to ‘rapidly review’ the access to funds to avoid wasting taxpayers’ money in a letter seen by Business & Accountancy Daily.
She also urged department chiefs to impose ‘disciplinary action’ on staff that are making purchases that are ‘incompatible’ with the set rules.
Little wrote: ‘I would expect this to involve reviewing the number of procurement cards issued and ensuring everyone who has one really needs one.
‘Where your teams identify charges [which] are found to be incompatible with departmental guidance you should take action as you deem necessary, including disciplinary action and the revocation of the card in question.’
She has asked permanent secretaries to report back any findings on abuse of Civil Service procurement cards to her by 10 March.
Little said: ‘You are all aware of the guidance we have in place around procurement cards.
‘Despite these provisions and the clear restrictions on the use of these cards, I have been concerned to see examples of expenditure using these purchasing cards, which on the face of it look difficult to justify based on our approved guidelines.’
Little reminded officials it was the responsibility of ‘individual departments to control and police’, but the Cabinet Office will be keeping expenditure ‘under close review’.
A government spokesperson said: ‘The majority of this spending was under the previous administration.
‘This government is clear - all spending must be justified as we continue to tackle wasteful expenditure and inefficiency wherever it may occur.
‘Our upcoming spending review will ensure taxpayer money is focused firmly on the government's plan for change, getting the NHS back on its feet, rebuilding Britain and securing our borders.'
Little expects fewer cards will be issued going forward, ‘with more spend routed through central procurement processes’, which should then lead to ‘higher levels of transparency over our expenditure’.
The government has not published data on expenditure over £500 since Keir Starmer has been Prime Minister. Data on this was last published in November.
In March 2024, before the announcement of the election, the Treasury was spending thousands in training contracts with firms such as KPMG, spending £21,195.30 in just one month, as well as a bill for £3,395 for Boots Hearing Care. The Treasury spent £101,973.58 in total in March.