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£47,000 cost of councillors' snacks

7:58pm Friday 2nd May 2008

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Snacks, drinks and room hire for county councillors have cost council tax payers £47,572.97 over the last four years.

Figures released by Dorset County Council show it spent £11,557.28 on tea, coffee, biscuits, and lunches for its 45 members in 2007/8.

The same figure was more than £12,000 in 2006/7 and £13,000 the year before that.

The figures include occasional spending on room hire and accommodation for externally held events, the council says.

Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "It's important councils realise every penny of their budget is precious and should be looked after. We're not suggesting councillors should be on bread and water but £11,000 is a lot of biscuits."

A county council spokesman said the figures included occasional spending on room hire and accommodation for externally held events - for example county council network meetings in London.

Dorset County Council leader Angus Campbell said: "Members are provided with light refreshments for council business, as committee and panel meetings often run for more than two hours.

"Nonetheless, we keep a tight rein on these budgets and our spending on refreshments has decreased over the last three years."

Dorset County Council provides tea and coffee for an average of 20 council meetings a month. These include committee, panel, cabinet and full council meetings. Full council meetings are held four times a year and on these days a buffet lunch is provided.

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Your Say YourDorset Echo

DingDonG, Wilds of Wiltshire says...
8:04pm Fri 2 May 08

The figures include occasional spending on room hire and accommodation for externally held events, the council says
A county council spokesman said the figures included occasional spending on room hire and accommodation for externally held events
Where did I occaisionally hear this before?

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maximus, Weymouth says...
9:15pm Fri 2 May 08

Porcine animal's breathing appendages and troughs?

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DingDonG, Wilds of Wiltshire says...
9:41pm Fri 2 May 08

Just done a bit of schoolboy sums on this.
20 meetings/month x 12 = 240 meetings.
240 meetings x 45 people = 10800
Why can't the councilors chip in £1 each time to cover tea,coffee,biscuits etc..
Result.. £11,557 cost - £10,800 revenue = cost now only £757 per year (for 180 buffet lunches and out-of-town meetings..acceptable
)
We called this "the Tea Club" at work. It usually showed enough profit for a Christmas Lunch for the members.
Guess they would have to employ a team of consultant accountants to manage the idea, so just forget it!

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Dorset Boy, Wilds of Dorset says...
9:43pm Fri 2 May 08

Often wondered where our council tax was used, now I know. Our tax is certainly not used for services, such as keeping hedgerows tidy, maintenance on the highways (just note all the potholes in the roads around Dorset) and cleaning out highway drains, ( there is 2 road gullies in the Wessex Way & Wessex Rd area that have a lake around them every time it rains) and nothing seems to be done about any of these faults.

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derek, dorset says...
8:58am Sat 3 May 08

Friends of Mr Prescott 2 Jags and 4K on food ?

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Fabian, Weymouth says...
9:26am Sat 3 May 08

So next time I ask the coucil why the children's playgrounds aren't equipped for youngsters to play on and they tell me they have no money I will know where that money went; On hob nobs.
Seriously, I worked as a civil servant for a number of years (not council) and we had to supply our own tea, coffee, sugar, milk and biscuits and this was used for when visitors came to meetings.

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Dorset Guy, Bridport says...
10:03am Sat 3 May 08

If councillors are being "paid"then this perk should be reported to the Tax authorities however if they are not paid then tea and biscuits to keep them going is not too much for them to expect If you dont like it remember to ask candidates when they call at the time of the next election what their policy is

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Dorset Guy, Bridport says...
10:03am Sat 3 May 08

If councillors are being "paid"then this perk should be reported to the Tax authorities however if they are not paid then tea and biscuits to keep them going is not too much for them to expect If you dont like it remember to ask candidates when they call at the time of the next election what their policy is

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Dorset Guy, Bridport says...
10:03am Sat 3 May 08

If councillors are being "paid"then this perk should be reported to the Tax authorities however if they are not paid then tea and biscuits to keep them going is not too much for them to expect If you dont like it remember to ask candidates when they call at the time of the next election what their policy is

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Wessex Lass, Dorchester says...
2:18pm Sat 3 May 08

I often have to spend more than two hours in meetings at my work and they often run through lunch time. I am a civil servant but I do not get tea etc laid on by the tax payer. If I want a drink in these meetings I have to bring a flask or my own water (no we do not have mineral water provided either!). It seems that whilst the civil service is cutting back local councils are not doing the same. We are all feeling the pinch on our wallets and expenditure like this makes me so angry. They need to come into the real world.

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CoogarUK, Dorchester says...
4:35pm Sat 3 May 08

Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "It's important councils realise every penny of their budget is precious and should be looked after. We're not suggesting councillors should be on bread and water but £11,000 is a lot of biscuits."


Indeed. Around £250 per head. Disgusting

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DingDonG, Wilds of Wiltshire says...
6:21pm Sat 3 May 08

Whatever you do, DON'T read the following, it may confuse you. (p.s. no space for comments on todays repeat)

"£47,000 cost of councillors’ snacks
12:09pm today
SNACKS, drinks and room hire for county councillors have cost council tax payers £47,572.97 over the last four years."

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Tricky Dicky, twixt here and there says...
10:37am Sun 4 May 08

Sounds like alot of munching and crunching has going on, leaving the rest of us squabbling over the few remaining crumbs.

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