Government spends £80 million on office refurbishment

The government's spending watchdog has been recently criticised after figures were released revealing that it had spent more than £80 million on office refurbishment in central London over the past two years, as the country's finances were slipping into the worst positions they have been since the second world war.

The National Audit Office spent more than £60 million hiring office refurbishment companies to carry out work to its Grade II listed offices in Central London.

The extent of the office refurbishment included marble flooring and leather sofas, nearly £2.4 million was spent on furniture alone, and nearly £20 million was spent on temporary accommodation whilst the office refurbishment services were being carried out.

Margret Hodge, new chair to the Public Accounts Committee, who are responsible for assessing the reports of the National Audit Office stated: “I'm taken aback. We have to look at the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisations that are responsible for scrutinising other bodies. There is a question about who evaluates the evaluators.”

The figures were revealed in the release of government spending by the treasury at the beginning of June in the Combined Online Information System (COINS).

Posted Wednesday June 30^th 2010
By The Onlines