Taxpayers in Peterborough have been handed a £4,300 bill to feed their councillors at nine council meetings. The Peterborough Telegraph discovered that over a 17 month period, from January 2011 to May 2012, the total bill for buffets at seven full council meetings and two annual meetings cost £4,303.25.
Light refreshments at sessions are one thing, but spending nearly £500 per meeting is clearly excessive. Taxpayers in Peterborough should be particularly concerned when earlier this year their council rejected the DCLG offer to freeze Council Tax and instead chose to increase it by 2.93 per cent.
As my colleague Rory Meakin pointed out earlier this week, councils have a range of options available to meet their spending challenges. But cutting out spending like this doesn't really have anything to do with the reduced financial settlements councils are receiving. It must be stopped regardless to save taxpayers' money.Taxpayers in Peterborough have been handed a £4,300 bill to feed their councillors at nine council meetings. The Peterborough Telegraph discovered that over a 17 month period, from January 2011 to May 2012, the total bill for buffets at seven full council meetings and two annual meetings cost £4,303.25.
Light refreshments at sessions are one thing, but spending nearly £500 per meeting is clearly excessive. Taxpayers in Peterborough should be particularly concerned when earlier this year their council rejected the DCLG offer to freeze Council Tax and instead chose to increase it by 2.93 per cent.
As my colleague Rory Meakin pointed out earlier this week, councils have a range of options available to meet their spending challenges. But cutting out spending like this doesn't really have anything to do with the reduced financial settlements councils are receiving. It must be stopped regardless to save taxpayers' money.
Light refreshments at sessions are one thing, but spending nearly £500 per meeting is clearly excessive. Taxpayers in Peterborough should be particularly concerned when earlier this year their council rejected the DCLG offer to freeze Council Tax and instead chose to increase it by 2.93 per cent.
As my colleague Rory Meakin pointed out earlier this week, councils have a range of options available to meet their spending challenges. But cutting out spending like this doesn't really have anything to do with the reduced financial settlements councils are receiving. It must be stopped regardless to save taxpayers' money.Taxpayers in Peterborough have been handed a £4,300 bill to feed their councillors at nine council meetings. The Peterborough Telegraph discovered that over a 17 month period, from January 2011 to May 2012, the total bill for buffets at seven full council meetings and two annual meetings cost £4,303.25.
Light refreshments at sessions are one thing, but spending nearly £500 per meeting is clearly excessive. Taxpayers in Peterborough should be particularly concerned when earlier this year their council rejected the DCLG offer to freeze Council Tax and instead chose to increase it by 2.93 per cent.
As my colleague Rory Meakin pointed out earlier this week, councils have a range of options available to meet their spending challenges. But cutting out spending like this doesn't really have anything to do with the reduced financial settlements councils are receiving. It must be stopped regardless to save taxpayers' money.