Government department spent £1,200 on two ministerial folders

11 December 2024, 09:06 | Updated: 11 December 2024, 11:10

A government department spent almost £1,200 of taxpayers' money on two ministerial folders.

Official figures show the Department for Culture Media and Sport bought the folders from luxury leather goods manufacturer Barrow Hepburn & Gale, at a cost of £594 each.

The same folders are routinely used by other government departments.

Leather-bound document holders are available in the House of Commons shop for £30.

According to the BBC, the expensive folders are to ‘enhance the image of government’.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has ordered government departments to show how they can make annual savings of 5%.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said: “It's going to be up to departments to find this 5%, they'll be able to look line-by-line, make sure every pound of government spending is being focused and delivering on the plan for change.

"It will be up to departments through the spending review process to identify those savings to help drive out waste and ensure that all funding is focused on the priorities that the prime minister set out in the plan for change."

A government spokesperson said it was "entirely focused on ensuring every pound of spending represents the best value for taxpayers, while also increasing investment in our public services and delivering on key growth projects".