TAXPAYERS have been landed with a £4,500 hotel bill for ministers and officials working at Andy Burnham’s No10 North in just three months.
The latest spending revelation comes after nearly £49,000 was splashed out setting up the PM’s northern Downing Street operation in Manchester.
And the true accommodation bill could be even higher, with the Government admitting it does not centrally record hotel spending across departments.
Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson revealed £4,514.34 had been spent on hotel stays for ministers, special advisers and staff since the base opened in July.
The figure, disclosed in response to a parliamentary question from Tory MP Mike Wood, covers only accommodation charged to Treasury budgets.
It comes on top of previously revealed spending on setting up the northern HQ, including more than £10,000 on branding, £1,700 on crockery and nearly £1,000 transporting a replica Downing Street door from London.
Mr Burnham launched No10 North at Heron House in July, pledging to work there every week as part of his drive to shift power away from Westminster.
The project has faced questions over its cost, with critics demanding to know how much taxpayers are being charged for the northern outpost.
The Cabinet Office previously admitted hotel accommodation costs were not centrally collated because staff working at No10 North come from several government departments.
It means the full bill for putting up ministers and officials travelling to Manchester remains unknown.
Mr Burnham has defended the spending, arguing it also costs money for officials and local leaders to travel to London for meetings.
Downing Street has yet to confirm a permanent home for No10 North after ruling out earlier plans to move the operation to Manchester’s new £1.3billion Digital Campus.
