Councillors squander thousands on foreign trips and travel expenses (Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats)

Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats <info@westminsterlibdems.org.uk>

Councillors squander thousands on foreign trips and travel expenses

June 29, 2006 10:44 AM

Canada as well as Japan and Germany were visited recently by Westminster councillors - paid for by local taxpayers

Over £12,500 was spent on travel for Westminster councillors during the lifetime of the last Council, including trips to North America and the Far East, official Council records released to the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

A total of £8,282.55 was added to Westminster's Council Tax bills thanks to councillors claiming for travel within the UK between the 2002 and 2006 elections to Westminster City Council.

To put it into context, a London taxi could clock up over 4,500 kilometres before the meter would hit £8,282. That is equivalent to the distance between London and Bombay.

An extra £4,350 of taxpayers' money was spent on three foreign trips for councillors.

Alastair Moss, a Conservative councillor for Maida Vale, travelled to Canada in 2004 as part of a Council delegation costing £2,050.

In 2005, two further trips added an extra £2,300 to local Council Tax bills. One saw Sarah Richardson, a Conservative councillor for Churchill ward, jet off to Japan. The other was enjoyed by councillors sitting on the City Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee who travelled to Berlin.

All foreign trips must be approved by the Leader of the Council.

Commenting, local Liberal Democrat Stuart Bonar, whose Freedom of Information request uncovered the figures, said:

"I cannot see how Westminster residents benefit one iota from having paid thousands of pounds in taxes for Conservative councillors to jet off around the globe. This is just a colossal waste of public money.

"What is more, councillors spent an extra £8,282 on travel within the UK. If councillors are travelling to and from Council meetings then what is wrong with central London's extensive bus network? A single bus fare with an Oyster card is 80p after 9.30am, and I am sure that a few of them could go for free with an older person's Freedom Pass or indeed just walk to where they need to go. If they were visiting somewhere else in the UK then coach travel is pretty cheap nowadays.

"Coming on top of the recent revelation that local councillors finish off their meetings with a dozen bottles of wine - again, paid for by the taxpayer - it is now time for Westminster Conservatives to stop wasting taxpayers' money. Otherwise the local LibDems will continue to expose their profligacy."