Some of firms providing meals and tickets also among those to secure most meetings in key departments
Ministers, senior officials and special advisers were treated to hospitality including lunches, dinners, and sometimes tickets on about 3,500 occasions in five years, according to a new study.
Some of the firms that provided the hospitality were also among those to secure the most meetings in key government departments, underlining the potential benefit to offering “freebies”.
Senior Treasury officials accepted hospitality from HSBC at least 10 times, and the bank also had 24 meetings with officials during the period – more than any other stakeholder.
Top Treasury officials also accepted hospitality from Barclays 11 times over that time, and the bank had the third highest number of meetings at 17.
Between them, the two banks provided hospitality or attended meetings with senior officials or ministers in the Treasury on average 1.2 times a week, the report found.
One of the top providers of hospitality to Treasury ministers was the lobbying group UK Finance, which was also in the top four organisations to get the most meetings with Treasury ministers.
Gareth Davies, the permanent secretary of the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), accepted tickets to the Chelsea flower show courtesy of the consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, as well as Bafta and Olivier awards tickets from a film company and theatre group, all in 2024.
At the DBT, accounting giants KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Oliver Wyman were in the top five firms giving hospitality to senior officials. Those three firms were also in the top seven firms getting the most meetings.
