Civil servants claim £33k four-day retreat is ‘value for money’

Civil servants spent £33,000 of taxpayers' money on a four-day luxury hotel stay and claimed it was "value for money".

Around 30 senior civil servants stayed at the four-star, Grade I-listed Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire between April 28 and May 1, with the £33,168.45 bill covering meals, teaching sessions and overnight stays.

The Cabinet Office told The Sun that, if external venues were used, "teams must show how using them delivers value for money and advances public priorities".

In April 2025, Pat McFadden, who was then the Cabinet Office minister in charge of government spending, vowed that staff away days would be banned in a crackdown on Whitehall spending.

Labour promised at the time that departments would only be permitted to hold events in government buildings, not in external venues.

Pat McFadden promised in April 2025 that staff away days would be banned - Wiktor Szymanowicz

The event at Hartwell House, which is owned by the National Trust, was reportedly part of the Government's 12-month Public Leaders Programme, which is designed to improve the leadership skills of chief-executive-level bosses.

According to The Sun, officials said the training was delivered in-house to avoid spending money on expensive consultants, and that the course cost 30 per cent less than a comparable private-sector programme.

The Cabinet Office said Hartwell House was chosen after a review of suitable venues, including government-owned buildings. The hotel has 90 acres of gardens and parkland and boasts a 20-page wine list and a luxury spa.

Mike Wood, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: "At a time when families are tightening their belts in the face of rising prices and rising taxes, £33,000 is an absurd amount to waste on a big day out for officials at a stately home.

"Labour said they would ban taxpayer-funded away days. Clearly the Cabinet Office didn't get the memo."

Hartwell House was chosen after a review of suitable venues, according to the Cabinet Office

A Government spokesman said: "This was a course delivered in-house as a part of reducing spend on consultancies, providing better value for money for the taxpayer.

"External venues are permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as these, and teams must show how using them delivers value for money and advances public priorities."

Last month, analysis by The Telegraph revealed that senior civil servants had spent almost £250,000 of taxpayers' money on away days so far this year, despite the pledge that such trips would be banned.

The money – equivalent to the cost of fixing more than 3,000 potholes – was spent across nine departments on away days at hotels, theatres and other venues.

On one occasion, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade spent just over £45,000 on an event at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. The Cabinet Office said at the time that "every pound spent must offer value for taxpayers".