HM Revenue & Customs officials accepted 1,079 offers of hospitality during 2014 to 2015, according to an investigation by the National Audit Office.
The NAO report into the acceptance of gifts and hospitality found all government departments could do more to be more stringent, after finding multiple weaknesses in controls.
To put the HMRC’s figure in context, the Defence Equipment & Support department recorded the most hospitality, both in terms of frequency and monetary value, with it officials accepting 5,213 offers of hospitality in 2014 to 2015.
In 2014 to 2015, 17 per cent of DES officials accepted gifts and hospitality with an estimated value of some £100,000 - compared with 1 per cent of HMRC officials - estimated at a value of some £19,000.
The NAO estimated officials in the three case study departments accepted a total of more than £150,000 of gifts and hospitality in 2014 to 2015, warning that although the total value of hospitality accepted may not be high, the “reputational risks around accepting it can be substantial”.
HMRC officials accepted hospitality from some 400 organisations.
The most frequent providers were foreign governments, suppliers and professional services firms - including the French government 19 times.
Senior officials in the 17 departments reported accepting hospitality (most often dinner) from some 1,495 different organisations (or individuals) between April 2012 and March 2015.
The most frequent providers in the period were the City of London Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Confederation of British Industry and Deloitte.
The NAO stated that frequent acceptance of hospitality from particular organisations is not necessarily wrong, but it does need to be in proportion to the business relationship.
According to civil service guidance on managing the acceptance of gifts and hospitality, accounting officers are responsible for ensuring registers and systems are in place.
The report added: “While most, but not all, of the cases declared by officials appear on the face of it to be justifiable in the normal course of business, we have found some weaknesses in the oversight and control of gifts and hospitality that need to be addressed by the Cabinet Office and by departments.”
peter.walker@ft.com
