Civil servants accused of perpetuating 'rotten culture of entitlement' after claiming thousands to travel to OWN office

George Bunn
Sun, 05 Apr 2026 16:00:42 +0000

Senior civil servants are billing taxpayers thousands of pounds for journeys to their own departmental headquarters in London, newly published figures reveal.

One Department for Transport employee submitted claims totalling £7,019.58 for just nine visits to the capital, averaging nearly £780 per trip when factoring in overnight accommodation and meals.

A colleague at the Department of Health and Social Care racked up an even higher per-trip average of £927.09, claiming £7,270.98 across ten London visits.

Another official made 31 separate journeys to Transport headquarters within a single three-month period, costing £3,485.50.

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The expenses stem from the Government's Plan for Growth initiative, which relocated 23,000 Whitehall positions outside the capital, meaning senior staff must now travel back for important meetings.

The spending has drawn fierce criticism from opposition figures, who branded it a betrayal of ordinary workers.

Alex Burghart MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "This is exactly the kind of absurdity that erodes public trust in Government."

Reform UK's Danny Kruger, who heads the party's preparations for government department, delivered a scathing attack on the figures.

The MP for East Wiltshire said: "This is a slap in the face to every hard-working taxpayer forced to commute at their own expense just to pay for privileged civil servants with gold-plated pensions.

"This is the rotten culture of entitlement and wasteful spending that has been allowed to fester unchecked in our Civil Service."

Critics argue the arrangement undermines the entire rationale for relocating staff away from expensive London premises.

The TaxPayers' Alliance has demanded ministers outlaw such claims entirely, with chief executive John O'Connell insisting officials should use video conferencing instead.

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"Ministers should put a stop to all expense claims for travel, accommodation and any other costs incurred by staff for coming to the office," he said.

Published data reveals the Ministry of Justice topped departmental spending at £42,498.98 between October and December 2025.

The Cabinet Office followed with £16,841.81, while Health and Social Care claimed £12,736.80 during the same quarter.

Across all departments, officials submitted bills totalling £139,719.97 for travel, food and overnight stays in just three months.

Should this pattern continue throughout the year, the annual expenses bill would exceed £550,000.

A government spokesman defended the practice, emphasising that standard commuting costs cannot be claimed by officials.

They told The Telegraph: “Officials cannot claim travel expenses for commuting to their office, only for official travel to other locations.

"The cost of official travel is tiny to the £94m we are saving by closing 11 London office buildings."

The spokesman continued: “A third of senior civil servants are now based in government offices outside of London, in the communities they serve.

"These expenses reflect routine travel for them to deliver their roles and responsibilities."