CIVIL Service credit cards will be frozen this week under plans to reduce their numbers by 50% and slash UK Government spending.
The Cabinet Office will order almost all of the 20,000 procurement cards used by civil servants to be frozen.
To regain access to the cards, civil servants will need to reapply and justify why they need them – or they will be cancelled at the end of the month.
The spend on the credit cards jumped from £155 million in 2020-21 to £675 million in 2024-25.
The move comes after Keir Starmer vowed to reshape the “flabby” state and slash the cost of bureaucracy.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said the so-called government procurement cards should only be provided to officials when it is “absolutely essential”.
Some Civil servants need the cards to deliver services for Government departments and agencies.
Cards used by diplomatic staff in unstable environments will be among a small number exempt from the freeze.
The Government expects to reduce the number of civil service credit cards in use by at least 50%.
New spending controls will bring down the maximum spend for hospitality from £2500 to £500, with anything over the new limit requiring approval from the director general.
Civil servants will also be barred from using cards for common goods and services that can be dealt with at scale instead – such as booking official travel, training or buying office supplies.
“It’s not right that hundreds of millions of pounds are spent on government credit cards each year, without high levels of scrutiny or challenge. Only officials for whom it is absolutely essential should have a card.
“Our clampdown on government credit cards will deliver savings that can be used to drive our plan for change – securing our borders, getting the NHS back on its feet and rebuilding Britain.”
