The FSA spent £638,500 last year on coffee, tea and biscuits plus other hospitality for meetings held at its Canary Wharf offices.
The information has come to light after yet another Freedom of Information request.
A statement from the FSA said that it provides a hospitality service for meetings at its premises: “This can range from providing tea and coffee to hosting breakfast or lunch meetings, through to more formal dinners and catering for seminars.
“The FSA hosts thousands of such meetings a year, with a wide range of external guests.”
The FSA, which spent £40,230 on external hospitality in 2009, has recently announced fee inceases, to the fury of the financial services community, who entirely pay for the regulator to be funded. Next year, its bill for funding will be £454.7m.
Three years ago, in July 2007, the leaving party for former FSA boss John Tiner cost £21,100.
Last week’s story on Introducer Today drew angry comments from readers, after a Freedom of Information request revealed that over 200 FSA staff get more than the £142,500 that David Cameron earns as prime minister.
Other Freedom of Information requests have revealed that the FSA spent £16m on consultants last year, £163,000 on art for its offices, and £150,000 on staff who complained they had been bullied.
FSA splashed out £638,500 on tea and biscuits
Popular news
-
Buy-to-let will become loss-making when rates rise
Landlords with standard buy-to-let properties will lose money when interest rates...
-
Buy-to-let mortgage rates driven lower
NatWest Intermediary Solutions is cutting rates on a number of its...
-
Young investors keen to crash the buy-to-let party
As many as four million 18-39 year olds are actively trying...
Sponsored Content
-
Data under lock and key ...
Each time I find something interesting in the data the National...
-
First humans on Mars ...
The Treasury has recently proposed that a new type of Isa...
-
The Dos and Don'ts of Selling Your Home ...
Recent figures show that the UK is currently facing a housing...
-
Bank of England Base Rate Cut - when will it happen?
The Bank of England has signalled that more than one interest...
-
How Much Will Mortgage Rates Affect The Housing Market?
Recent economic data was reassuringly predictable. We learned that core inflation fell...
-
Lender hires TV property guru to highlight empty homes scandal
Homes Under The Hammer property expert Lucy Alexander is fronting a...
-
Shared Ownership has failed to deliver - MPs slam process and costs
Shared ownership has failed to deliver an affordable route to home...
-
Buy To Let Crisis - lending plummets and arrears soar
There’s been a huge rise in the number of buy to...
-
Lender hires TV property guru to highlight empty homes scandal
Homes Under The Hammer property expert Lucy Alexander is fronting a...
60 second interview
Lee Dahill, Director of Sales for the Today publications and The ValPal Network
Who are you? I’m the Director of Sales for both...
Edward Trustworth, My Tenanted Property - Founder
Who are you? Edward Trustworth, 23 What does it say on...
Maud Rousseau, Searchflow Group Marketing and Communications Director
This week, SearchFlow launches it new brand. Group Marketing...
Comments
Turn over down , number of staff down but FSA Fees are up !! How . Why !
I would like to say this is shocking however it is'nt one bit! When we had an FSA visit from 2 relatively junior staff they arrived in a 12 mth old mid range mercedes and stayed at the very best hotel for a 50 mile radius.Power corupts ,absolute power corrupts absolutely! These people believe they are teflon and can do what they like when they like without any consequence whatsoever meanwhile honest ,hardworking independents are branded not 'fit and proper' because they can no longer afford to meet these peoples fees! This has gone beyond the usual pull/push between regulator and regulated this is now a total disgrace! Quasi civil servants with nothing but self interest and noses dug firmly into the trough.
Do something somebody please!!!!!
You regulated guys have so much power and you do not use it. Why dont you simply get together and construct a letter. This letter will tell them that you will no longer be paying their fees because they are unhelpful, ill informed and fail to regulate you in a fair and reasonable way. From one of you this would be laughable. From 2,000 of you, they have a major problem that would be brought to the attention of the government. It just needs ONE of you to create a website so you can work together ! People power is strong, if only you have the courage to do it. GOOD LUCK !
You regulated guys have so much power and you do not use it. Why dont you simply get together and construct a letter. This letter will tell them that you will no longer be paying their fees because they are unhelpful, ill informed and fail to regulate you in a fair and reasonable way. From one of you this would be laughable. From 2,000 of you, they have a major problem that would be brought to the attention of the government. It just needs ONE of you to create a website so you can work together ! People power is strong, if only you have the courage to do it. GOOD LUCK !
The extremes of the shallow, hypocritical, parasitical pimps that are the FSA seems to know no bounds. Recession ? What recession.Let them eat cake !
I have had to inform my clients that there will be a substatial rise in fees this year. This is because I have purchased some very nice artwork for my office. Also, some clients tend to take advantage of the tea, coffee and biscuits when they visit me. In addition, there is my 'retirement party fund' to be taken into consideration, plus my PA is the bullying type and I want some compensation for coping with this.
Increasing client charges for these things seems absolutely reasonable to me, what do you think?
Anybody who has attended a recent TCF interview at some local hotel can see the profligate waste from this quango - somone needs to get a brad blue pencil a draw a line through the lot.
In my office we each put £3 per week into a tin! There we are FSA £1/2 Million saved already Simples! Can I ask for some more suggestions that can be passed on! Please try and keep language at least a little decent and physically possible.
Yet again we are the whipping boys for a Government appointed body which lives in a parallel universe where recession and accountability and TREATING CUSTOMERS FAIRLY are concepts which only apply to the people who pay the bills not the wasters and nincompoops who spend our hard earned money . Make them get a job in the real world and stop leeching off us !!!!!
please,please pass this informaion to the press.i as a financial adviser find it very difficult to stomach,these regulators sitting in their plush offices,using our money to entertain who?the new government should sack the whole lot.They are a disgrace to what they call a professional organisation.
The shambles of the last 3 years is purely down to the idiots running the FSA. They react to the closed barn door. what incompetent people we have telling us what to do.
In a time where the whole country is struggling,the industry continues to be battered by them what a jolly old time the FSA are having at our expense. They continue to think they are immune. These figures just go to confirm their arrogance they are just not in the real world. Let's just hope we are rid of them sooner rather than later
And they expect small brokers to keep £10000 in their bank a/c even when they only have £8000 commission per month
Its about time that parliment investigated the gross waste of money invovled in running such a shambolic outfit as the FSA the public should be made more aware of the cost of running this quango They will have to pay for this rubbish in the end
These louts are no different to the politicians that abused the rules and wasted the peoples money who they were placed in the privilaged position to so called protect at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask