Labour Welsh government officials spent nearly £16,000 at exclusive New York restaurant - as well as £7,000 at Smith & Wollensky steakhouse and £1,500 in a Marseilles eaterie
Labour Welsh Government officials splashed out nearly £16,000 dining at an exclusive New York restaurant and thousands more on World Cup flights, luxury hotels and other hospitality on taxpayer-funded credit cards.
Labour Welsh Government officials splashed out nearly £16,000 dining at an exclusive New York restaurant and thousands more on World Cup flights, luxury hotels and other hospitality on taxpayer-funded credit cards.
The hefty tab, which critics say will shock taxpayers, amounted to £1.49million between April 2022 to April 2023, when Mark Drakeford served as First Minister.
This is almost double the previous years figure of £821,871.38.
Notably, the expenses included a food bill for exclusive New York restaurant Zou Zous, which totalled an eye-watering £15,933.45.
The Ninth Avenue restaurant serves dishes such as Octopus Carpaccio Lobster Kebab and Smoked Cherry Baby Lamb Chops.
Labour Welsh Government officials splashed out nearly £16,000 dining at exclusive New York restaurant Zou Zous using taxpayer-funded credit cards, new figures reveal
More than £5,100 was also spent at the upmarket Soho House in West Hollywood, California
Its offers private dining room and hand-crafted cocktails in a lush and luxurious space - with the taxpayers picking up the Big Apple tab.
The Welsh Government has said the visit to Zou Zous was part of an event to promote Wales for St Davids Day.
Other figures show almost £7,000 was spent at exclusive New York restaurant Manhatta.
The most expensive item under travel and subsistence was for £7,161 at steakhouse Smith & Wollensky, which has venues across the US and also London.
Thousands more were spent on restaurants and fancy eateries, including £1,541 spent at Chez Fonfon in Marseilles.
Elsewhere, £13,0006 was paid to book Qatar Airways flights a month before the World Cup, for which Wales qualified.
Both Drakeford and Vaughan Gething, who at the time was Minister for the Economy, were present at the World Cup.
The third highest expenditure was for Certas Energy, which supplies fuel.
Thousands more was spent on flights and hospitality using procurement cards, the figures show.
In July 2022, £6,966 was paid to Japan Airlines, followed by two further bills to the company in September 2022 of £4,946.476 each, and £4,598 to All Nippon Airways, WalesOnline reports.
Alongside dining in New York, a £6,806 bill was racked up at the four-star Roxy Hotel in Manhattan, while £2,300 was spent in pub chain Donnellys in the Big Apple.
More than £5,100 was spent at the upmarket Soho House in West Hollywood, California, while £2,895.47 was spent on catering in the Radisson Blu in Doha, in February 2023.
There were other spends amounting to more than £1,000 at the five star St Regis in Doha, while charges were made to the Hilton, the W, Best Western and Intercontinental in Doha during the World Cup period.
The cards also show a £3,199 bill from the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai in February, 2023, and £3,183 to Groupe Voyages Quebec, a Canadian travel agent.
Alongside dining in New York, a £6,806 bill was racked up by Welsh government officials at the four-star Roxy Hotel in Manhattan
Mark Drakeford, who was First Minister for Wales at the time of the spending in question, was pictured in Doha for the World Cup. The figures show £13,0006 was paid to book Qatar Airways flights a month before the event
More than £3,000 was spent on Eurostar tickets in February and March, 2023.
Other costs included £6,800 on training by events and engagement experts livegroup.co.uk and a £4,999 bill for InspiredMinds, a global tech and science strategy group focused on AI4Good.
Overall, £375,000 was spent on travel and subsistence across the world, with an additional £261,000 for travel.
The cards show officials travelled widely to New Jersey, Alabama, Tokyo, New Orleans, Barcelona, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Toronto, among other places.
Claims made under accommodation and travel added another £11,963.90 to this total.
Thousands were spent on restaurants and fancy eateries, including £1,541 spent at Chez Fonfon in Marseilles
The bill for welfare, which includes optician bills, came to more than £23,000.
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: These spends will shock taxpayers.
Labour politicians have a well-documented love of luxury, but its always someone else who pays for it.
Many hard-pressed pensioners will struggle to make ends meet this year after Labours unforgivable winter fuel payment cut, but you can bet that the Labour Welsh Governments taxpayer-funded credit cards will keep on swiping.
In a statement to MailOnline, a Welsh Government spokesman said: Procurement cards reduce administration costs and are used by government departments across the UK.
We have rigorous processes in place to limit, monitor and control their use.
Transactions are reviewed, require approval by senior managers and are subject to regular internal audit.
Transparency is important and we publish detailed information on procurement card use every year.
Examples of procurement card use include fuelling and maintaining the Welsh Government fisheries protection vessels, renewal of software licences, health and safety related expenditure and overseas events and exhibitions to promote Wales, including extensive St Davids Day activities.
The latest figures reflect a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel and promotional activity.
