A QUANGO has been blasted for frittering £12,000 on working-from-home kit in a single month.
The Environment Agency splurged the five-figure sum of taxpayer cash on just 13 pieces of equipment.
GettyTory Victoria Atkins said: ‘Labour claim to be getting to grips with government spending, but continue to let their monster quangos run rampant’[/caption]
It comes despite Labour pledging to rein in spending on government credit cards and stop quangos swallowing up eye-watering amounts of public money.
Critics last night also railed against Whitehall staff being still allowed to work from home five years on from the pandemic.
Recently-published disclosures showed in February the Environment Agency bought £12,109.11 worth of “WFH equipment” from Bennett Workplace Solutions.
It does not specify the types of kit, but will likely include ergonomic chairs and standing desks.
In the same month the quango – responsible for wildlife conservation – also spent £2,162 on “tea, coffee and milk”.
Tory Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Labour claim to be getting to grips with government spending, but continue to let their monster quangos run rampant with government credit cards.
“Once again, Labour say one thing and do another. They’re not cutting quangos, they’re handing the Environment Agency thousands of pounds to work from home.”
William Yarwood of the TaxPayers’ Alliance added: “Taxpayers are sick of stumping up for do-nothing desk dodgers.
“Five years on from the pandemic, and yet we still can’t get many of Britain’s bureaucrats back into the office.
“If Starmer wants to smash the quangocracy the Environment Agency would be a good place to start.”
In March Labour announced it was freezing around 20,000 Government Procurement Cards to get a grip on wasteful spending.
Spending on the plastics by civil servants had quadrupled in the full years to last year when £600million was spent.
Sir Keir Starmer has also vowed to rein in quangos, and has announced he is scrapping NHS England, which he described as “the world’s biggest quango”.
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