Lib Dems slam £7.5k taxpayer-funded spending
New council figures reveal £7.5k of public money has been spent this year sending senior council officials to Reform and Labour party conferences.
Opposition Liberal Democrat councillors are calling on Sunderland City Council’s Reform UK leadership to ban the use of public money being used to send council staff to party political events.
This comes after new figures showed £7,468.30 of taxpayers’ cash was spent sending the authority’s chief executive, Patrick Melia, and director of strategy and corporate affairs, Jill Laverick, to the Reform UK conference in Birmingham and Labour Party conference in Liverpool in September.
Liberal Democrat city councillor Stephen O’Brien, who uncovered the figures, said: “It is a disgrace that senior council staff, who are meant to be politically neutral, are attending party political events and are charging council tax payers through the nose for their travel, hotels and food.
“If political lobbying for the council needs to happen at these events, this should be done by Labour and Reform politicians in the city, at their own expense.
“At a time when the council is cutting services and hiking council tax, it is truly beyond belief that thousands are being spaffed up the wall, sending council staff to political events.
"It simply cannot be defended."
According to the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Melia and Councillor Laverick spent a combined £1,342 on accommodation and £879.20 on travel at both events.
A further £257.10 was spent on miscellaneous expenses including taxis and food, and £4,990 for entry to the conferences themselves.
Sunderland City Council have defended this spending, claiming sending councillors to party political events “is an important part of ensuring Sunderland’s voice is heard”.
A spokesperson for Sunderland City Council told the Echo: “Engaging with businesses, government and other partners is an important part of ensuring Sunderland's voice is heard.
“Events and conferences give us the chance to highlight the exciting work taking place across our city and help build new business relationships.
“They are also part of the bigger picture in securing investment and funding that helps Sunderland thrive, creating new opportunities for residents, businesses and communities across the city.”