Spending watchdog: "We'll review extravagant gifts"

Wednesday 24 June 2015

The head of the States' spending watchdog says they will investigate gifts to the public sector to see if any rules have been broken, after it emerged that ministers and civil servants had received more than £50,000 worth of gifts in five years.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Andrew Lewis - whose remit includes all States spending - says that they will be reviewing the register that has been disclosed publicly for the first time under the Freedom of Information Law.

"We are the guardians of the public purse, and part of our specific remit is to review 'extravagance' in the public sector," he said.

"What these Freedom of Information Law applications do is make people think twice about infringing the code of conduct. It's quite stupid if that's what they're doing, because they will get found out.

"If there has been abuse of public funds, and extravagance can be proven and it's not to the public benefit, then that's something that we will be asking questions about."

Figures revealed yesterday showed that ministers and civil servants have been given more than £50,000 worth of gifts between 2010 and 2014. The list of gifts to States departments – released under the Freedom of Information Law – runs to 24 pages, detailing well over 1,000 entries of freebies and gifts, mainly from companies who do business with the States.

The gifts range from big donations by medical companies of up to £3,000 to cover conferences for Health and Social Services staff, right through to sacks of spuds, a box of eggs or a packet of jammy dodgers.