Globetrotting MPs blew £550,000 of taxpayers’ cash on fact-finding missions to far flung locations like New York, Nigeria and Italy last year
Bill soared by more than a quarter as committees investigate issues from prostitution to greyhound welfare
GLOBETROTTING MPs blew £550,000 of taxpayers’ cash last year on fact-finding missions to far flung locations like New York, Nigeria and Italy, it emerged yesterday.
The bill soared by more than a quarter as Commons committees went on junkets to probe issues from prostitution to greyhound welfare.
The cost was up from around £430,000 in 2014/2015.
One of the biggest spenders was the International Development Committee, who spent £35,667 taking nine MPs on a trip to Washington and New York for six days in September to look into “sustainable development goals”.
The Committee also visited Nigeria to see how aid money was being spent. The five day trip in February cost £44,000.
While the Defence Committee, chaired by Tory Julian Lewis, blew £50,000 on eight members going for a six-day trip in March.
Keith Vaz investigated prostitution as a part of an inquiry in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden, for two days with three colleagues in April last year at a cost of £4,040.
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In April a three-day trip by the Committee to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg cost a whopping £7,200.
It sparked demands for a crackdown.
Harry Davis, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: “Some travel might be necessary but when video-conferencing can connect MPs with other politicians or experts, they should always be asking whether foreign travel is strictly necessary in the first place.
“Far too often these "fact finding missions" just look like a jolly for MPs and their staff and they need to demonstrate to taxpayers that they are getting value for money."