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BBC racks up £42,000 alcohol tab in 2013
By Amy HopkinsThe BBC spent £42,000 on alcohol in 2013, figures from a freedom of information (FoI) request have shown.
The BBC spent £42,000 on alcohol in 2013, the Guardian has found.Submitted by the Guardian newspaper, the FoI found that this figure is considerably less than previous years, which sat at £107,511 in 2008 – £57,000 of which was spent on Champagne alone.
When this figure was revealed in 2008, the BBC responded to public criticism by imposing a crackdown, almost halving alcohol expenses to £55,984 in 2009.
Overall, the BBC’s alcohol tab for 2013 was down on 2012’s total of £42,971, but up slightly from the £41,364 spent in 2011.
Spirits received the least spend by the BBC, with employee’s claiming a total of £1,000 last year, the majority of which was for Gordon’s gin and Smirnoff vodka.
The data attained by the Guardian only covers alcohol ordered through the broadcaster’s main supplier, not revealing the amount spent with other caterers and suppliers.
According to a BBC spokesperson, expenses for alcohol are usually claimed when employees buy drinks for guests on their programmes and press screenings, adding that expenses can only be claimed for “very exceptional occasions”.
The corporation has experienced some criticism since the last year’s alcohol expense figures were revealed, despite the decline.
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said that licence fee money should “pay for quality programming, not the staff booze bill”.