Taxpayers foot £4,500 hotel bill for No10 North ministers and staff

11 comments 11 Next 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 . Andy Burnham welcomes staff as he officially opens No10 North at Heron House, Manchester. Credit: Times Media Ltd Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged to work in Manchester every week as part of his drive to shift power away from Westminster Credit: Getty Advertisement 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. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. 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. READ MORE ON POLITICS ON THE BOX Andy Burnham to appear on Celebrity Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer special POLITICS FIX The difficult balancing act PM faces over immigration - & trap he must avoid 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. Advertisement Most read in The Sun VEGGIE SHOCK OAP nearly dies after eating too much BEETROOT KYIV HOPE Trump 'asks Musk to reverse Starshield blackout' that left Ukraine defenceless DEPTHS OF EVIL Pregnant woman 'dissolved in acid by ex and girlfriend’ ID’d by tattoo BEEB ROW Trump ordered to sit for deposition over $10bn BBC Panorama doc lawsuit 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. 11 comments 11