That'll do nicely.... #2

You may remember, Dear Reader, H posed a question in the previous piece on the corporate purchase card.

How much do you think has been spent on the RBKC credit card, on stationery for the first three months of 2011?

                                                                       (A) £2,000     (B) £4,000   (C) £6,000

 

Thank you to all those who entered the competition, we had 3 people suggesting (A), 9 saying (B) and 4 who thought it was (C).

 

Fortunately for Hornet, it was quite easy to select a winner, since no-one actually got it right.

 

Yes, it was a trick question, because the answer is actually all of them added together, £12,000. Thats right, in the first three months of 2011 (well, actually two months and about 2 weeks) the total amount charged to the council credit card and billed as "stationery" is £12,000. Quite a lot of envelopes.

 

That is of course Dear Reader only be purchases over £500, so could quite possibly be more. Significantly more. This is also purchases on the credit card and not "regular stationery orders" that are made and invoiced direct to the council accounts department. Its likely to be "ad-hoc" purchases.

 

Now, we all know the antics of salespersons on expenses, who pull into garages fill up with fuel then grab a bunch of flowers and some CD's and ask the cashier for a receipt for it all to be put down as petrol. Perk of the job some one would say, others say stealing.

 

It would be interesting to get hold of the actual stationery company receipts just to verify these "stationery" purchases are in fact legitimate orders for council duties and not purchases for personal use made on the council card to be paid back later when the bill comes in.

 

Lets see shall we...

 

Oh yes Dear Reader, one eagle eyed amongst you spotted H reference to a flight to Iran, and wrote a letter published in these pages. H is happy to report it was a flight paid for by the council to Iran as part of a Social Services issue so it is totally above aboard. H is also happy to state she never doubted it for one minute, and is waiting for the justification for the flights to Togo and Guyana