Civil servants burlesque club 'away day'
Civil servants spent £4,719.21 on an away day at an East London club that often features such figures as 'burlesque chanteuse Lady Beau Peep' and 'showgirl sensation Amber Topaz'.
The jaunt was revealed by the Department for Communities and Local Government following a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke.
He asked communities minister Robert Neill: "What date the decision was taken by his department to authorise public expenditure on an away day at the Brickhouse burlesque club; how much was spent on the away day and on which contractors and firms; what form the teambuilding event took; and what steps have been taken to reduce expenditure on away days.
Helpfully enough the away day at the Brick Lane bar was authorised before the coalition came to power.
Neill replied: "The booking was made under the last Administration, while the cost of the event was debited via the Government Procurement Card in May 2010.
"Poisson Rouge, an events management company, were contracted to provide the venue and the event.
"The total cost of the event was £4,719.21 which comprised £3,417.71 of payments made to Poisson Rouge and £1,301.50 to the venue, the Brickhouse.
"The event involved hire of a room during the day at the venue, for a review of work in internal audit.
"While I am informed the Brickhouse often features such figures as 'burlesque chanteuse Lady Beau Peep' and 'showgirl sensation Amber Topaz', the event in this instance did not involve civil servants watching, or indeed, performing cabaret or other eclectic entertainment.
"No alcohol was consumed at the event. The purpose of the staff event was to review work carried out for 2009-10, identify areas for improvement, agree changes for the forthcoming year to improve service delivery and build the team.
"However, the final part of the day did involve a team building event involving drumming, organised by Poisson Rouge.
Neill added that since the coalition came to power the policy on such events "has changed significantly".
"Team review events now take place at no or very limited costs, for example through using rooms in the Department," he said.
"New checks and balances have been put in place, assisted by the discipline of the Department publishing all spending over £500 and greater openness over the Government Procurement Card."
He added: "I am aware that Poisson Rouge has been used in the past by a number of public sector clients."
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