Nicola Sturgeon's civil servants billed public for curling, crazy golf, laser games and play dough

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Civil servants blew public money on curling, crazy golf and a trip to Edinburgh Zoo to help staff bond with each other.The away days also included a laser tag game and spending £375 at Brewhemia, dubbed Scotland’s “beer palace”.Taxpayers were also billed for play dough.The latest disclosures are part of a massive data dump of nearly 60,000 items purchased on Scottish Government credit cards.They show how officials racked up £32,955 on spending on away days between 2019 and 2022 when Nicola Sturgeon was in charge.Despite the Government complaining of a lack of money, public servants found the cash to shell out £351 at “Da Steak Hoose” - popular with meat lovers.Records show £86 was spent in 2019 on a flight from Berlin to Glasgow for an “overseas hub” away day.Other jollies included spending £1980 for a Radisson Hotel away day, £502 at Gorgie City Farm and £375 at Brewhemia.Another £204 was spent for a laser tag away day in woodlands near Edinburgh and public cash was used for staff to go to escape rooms in Glasgow.The online blurb for escape rooms states: “Escape Reality is a game played in real life.

You and your team have just 60 minutes to escape one of our uber-real rooms.“You'll come as friends, but leave as heroes as you battle against time to solve puzzles, overcome challenges and defeat your doubts.”Other outings involved a bonding session at the Royal Botanical Gardens, £80 for curling and £148 for a “bus and boat tour” in Edinburgh.Officials charged £3.30 for ping pong balls, £46.58 for play dough and paper plates, £3.97 for paper planes and £5.60 for stickers.The venue hire for Edinburgh Zoo in 2019 was £2,096.Another £100 was spent at Swingers crazy golf.Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: "It