A million dollars wasted on flowers

It’s nice to have flowers around to brighten up your day. But spending a million dollars on flowers to decorate government offices is a big waste of taxpayers’ money.

That’s the consensus of the British people after learning that their hard-earned money was used to purchase expensive flowers to brighten up the offices of cabinet members for the past four years.

Based on the current exchange rate, insiders say close to 780,000 – a whopping $1,091,248.03 – was wasted because of this.

The biggest offender is the Department for Children, Schools and Families that spent 174,600 – or $244,236.70 – on potted plants and cut flowers. In second place is the Foreign Office that spent 106,053 or $148,287.72.

“The money was spent on providing floral arrangements for official dinners and events, and bouquets for visiting dignitaries such as Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, France’s first lady,” according to Murray Wardrop of the Telegraph.Co.UK.

Special mention, on the other hand, goes to British labor politician Lord Peter Mandelson who reportedly spends over 2,000 or $2,794.71 for flowers every month.

Ironically, Mandelson is the business secretary or the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to be exact. Critics say that in a time where business is bad because of the economic crisis, Mandelson chose to decorate his office instead of putting his energy where it is needed.

“The 24,155 ($33,793.38) on plants by Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business over the past 11 months stands in contrast to Chancellor Alistair Darling, who has cancelled flower orders. A Treasury contract worth 3,666 to provide flowers has been axed,” Wardrop said.

These figures were uncovered by Jeremy Hunt, the British Conservative Member of Parliament for Surrey South West.

“When times are tough, it is crazy that the government is spending so much on pot plants. Each department needs to think carefully about whether this sort of spending can be justified,” he said.

“People up and down the country will be outraged at this waste of taxpayers’ money. When everyone is struggling to get by, splashing out such vast sums on pot plants is a complete waste,” he added.

For the great majority who don’t have enough money to buy flowers, look around for the best deals. Your local florist can help you in this matter.

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