Taxpayers have had a ‘purr-fect’ Budget present with the news that Gladstone, the Treasury’s resident cat with specific mouse hunting duties, is not costing them a penny this year and has not been on the payroll - either as a full-time employee or via a personal services contract - since his appointment
On Budget day Twitter followers were treated to pictures of Gladstone, who has his own account, sitting inside the famous red box first used by his namesake, William Ewart Gladstone, who was Chancellor four times.
Now the Treasury has responded to a freedom of information (FOI) request asking how much money was spent by the Treasury on keeping Gladstone the cat in each of the following years: 2016 2017 2018 (to date). The request also asked which budget the money comes out of.
In response, the Treasury said: ‘The Treasury cat, Gladstone, is kept at no cost to the taxpayer. All costs are met through voluntary donations and no official records are kept.
‘Staff members volunteer to care for Gladstone in their own time.’
Gladstone is a black domestic short-haired cat who is often pictured sporting a red spotted collar. He assumed the position of chief mouser in late June 2016, with responsibilities for controlling mice in the Treasury’s 1 Horse Guards Road building, following the appointments of two other cats, Larry and Palmerston, to perform similar roles at Number 10 and the Foreign Office.
Response to FOI2018/15945 is here
Report by Pat Sweet
