To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Department’s transparency data online publication of spending over £500 using a government procurement card from January to May 2022, what were the (a) locations and (b) purposes of the £19,401.20 spent under the merchant description Bars/Taverns/Lounges/Discos from 26 to 29 April 2022.

The purposes of the £19,401.20 spent using ePC between 26-29 April 2022 under the merchant descriptions 'Bars/Taverns/Lounges/Discos' are as follows:

£14,334 - Hotel accommodation for personnel providing an escort role for in UK movements

£4,376.20 - Army Sailing Association fees for storage of boats/use of facilities

£691.00 - Hosting of foreign dignitaries

Due to the sensitive nature of some MOD activity, we cannot publish location information on a public forum. ePC spend is categorised using Visa/Mastercard 'Merchant Category groups' assigned to individual companies. These are sometimes misleading as they are wide descriptors which don't necessarily cover the full extent of that supplier's business.