The astonishing amount of taxpayers’ money spent on woke Whitehall support groups can be revealed for the first time today.
An internal report by the Civil Service found £1.7million is spent each year on hundreds of diversity networks to enable civil servants to connect with colleagues of the same race, religion, sexuality or lifestyle choices.
While the audit – compiled under the previous Government but never published – found groups dedicated to supporting civil servants with serious health conditions, such as cancer and disabilities, many simply act as forums for minority groups to discuss their experiences of working in Whitehall, or organise awareness events and host talks.
Cabinet Office sources told the Mail a staggering 548 groups had been created, with 2,853 civil servants sitting on them – and some departments allow staff to devote as much as 50 per cent of their working week to running them.
An internal report by the Civil Service found £1.7million is spent each year on hundreds of diversity networks
The Intellectual Property Office also held a talk on ‘intellectual property and queer theory’ (stock photo)
Groups include the Civil Service Vegan Network, the Humanists In Government and a transgender group called a:gender which likened women’s rights campaigners to the Ku Klux Klan.
The Intellectual Property Office also held a talk on ‘intellectual property and queer theory’ while the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) hosted an ‘insight into afro-textured hair’. A Civil Service Muslim Network was suspended earlier this year amid allegations it had hosted events where speakers called for officials to lobby for changes to Government policy on the Gaza conflict.
Now Labour is facing calls to scrap the groups after Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed there is a £22billion black hole in the public finances and announced plans to axe winter fuel payments for 10million pensioners.
Labour is facing calls to scrap the groups after Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed there is a £22billion black hole in the public finances (stock photo)
Last night Shadow Cabinet Office minister John Glen, who worked on the diversity review while in Government, said: ‘Spending so much time and money on these networks is an enormous waste. There is nothing wrong with doing this in their spare time, but they should not be doing this in working hours.
‘Rather than putting up your taxes, Labour should be cracking down on woke waste like this.’
Former ‘common sense minister’ Esther McVey said: ‘It is outrageous that taxpayers are footing the bill for these staff networks, which take civil servants away from doing the job they are paid to do. When I was in the Cabinet Office, I made clear that I had no problem with these staff networks providing they took place outside of working hours and at no cost to the taxpayer.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘Our focus is delivering the change that people expect. We will support the Civil Service with the tools to ensure it can deliver that for working people.’
