Councils spent £1.2 million on 'back-patting' award ceremonies - TaxPayers' Alliance

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Local Government

Councils spent at least £1.2 million on award ceremonies in the last financial year, according to research published today.

The money went towards tickets, accommodation, travel and catering for events such as the Loo of the Year and the Magic Of Motown, the TaxPayers' Alliance revealed.

Glasgow City Council was found to have spent the most (£83,000) on hosting and attending award ceremonies.

Other key findings include:

• Among the ceremonies attended were the Everything Happens Somewhere Awards 2010; Loo of the Year; the Sports Turf and Landscaping Awards; the British Parking Awards; the Magic Of Motown and the Structural Steelwork Awards
• Fife Council attended and hosted the most ceremonies with a total of 34
• At least 115 councils spent no money on hosting or attending award ceremonies
• Councils spent at least £1.2 million on hosting and attending award ceremonies during 2010-11. This is almost certainly an underestimate as many councils could not tell us how much they spent on award ceremonies last year
• 15 councils attended the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Awards at a total cost of £5,000

Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be staggered that councils facing significant pressure on their finances are spending thousands of pounds on back-patting award ceremonies. Recognising staff who have done well doesn’t require this kind of extravagant spending.

"Some authorities have shown that they understand award ceremonies aren’t the right priority for money that is supposed to be spent on frontline services, but others need a reality check.

"Many items of spending like this are a small share of council’s total budgets but controlling these kinds of costs can add up to a better deal for families."