THE Scottish Government has been accused of “treating the public like mugs" after spending almost £700 to replace a wonky coffee table.
Civil servants used a Government-issued MasterCard to buy a £679 table from John Lewis last October, a freedom of information request has revealed
The John Lewis website sells only one coffee table for that price, the “Hemingway Oval”.
The sales pitch says the hand-polished piece features lacquered “pippy oak”, a woven cane shelf , and is “the perfect focal point for entertaining guests in your living room”.
Justifying the expense, the Government said the knee-high, 1.1m long item was not simply somewhere to rest a flat white but an “events table”.
A spokesperson said: “The events table is used for routine meetings and media interviews. It replaces a table that had become unsafe to use.”
The purchase was made by the Ministerial Portfolios team.
The Government’s user guide to “electronic purchase cards” reminds officials that of sales over £500 are published and may also attract freedom of information requests.
“It is important therefore that before committing to buying on an ePC due regard is given to the scrutiny this could attract,” it says.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “It may not be a huge sum in the grand scheme of things, but it does point to an SNP government which doesn’t think twice about wasting cash. This sort of waste will be replicated right across the Scottish Government.
“Taxpayers want to feel like they get value for money for funding government. This type of purchase is anything but.”
LibDem Mike Rumbles MSP said the government appeared to have been “suckered in by one too many John Lewis Christmas commercials”.
He said: “That's a latte money for one coffee table and exactly the type of expenditure the Scottish Government should be filtering out.
"The Scottish Government are treating the public like mugs; they should wake up, smell the coffee and realise how bad this looks.”
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant added: “It is ridiculous at a time of austerity, while slashing council budgets, that the SNP Government have spent almost £700 on a coffee table.
“The SNP government must explain why they have behaved extravagantly. A perfectly good coffee table could be purchased for less than a tenth of the cost.”
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