Councils try to trim the fat off biscuit budgets

One high rise was at Wakefield Council, where spending on refreshments in all meetings went up 29 per cent from 12,100 in 2008-09 to 15,600 in 2009-10.

Phil Taylor, Wakefield Council's corporate director for corporate performance, said the council was examining all its spending to see where money could be saved to meet budget challenges.

He added that there had been more meetings last year than the previous year and the cost of providing refreshments had also increased.

Spending on refreshments also went up at East Riding by 14 per cent – and by 9 per cent at both Hambleton and Kirklees councils.

Selby Council's expenditure increased 69 per cent from 877 in 2008-09 to 1,486 in 2009-10.

But the council insisted the figure was the total spent on buying refreshments and ignored the money paid back to them by the organisers of external meetings at the civic centre.

"For non-council meetings we charge for refreshments, so we claw back some of this money," a Selby Council spokesman added.

"Over the last year there have been over 80 external meetings at the civic centre. Renting out rooms for other organisations to hold meetings at the civic centre actually brings in money for the council."

Eighteen of the region's 22 councils released figures to the Yorkshire Post under the Freedom of Information Act. Nine councils increased their spending while expenditure stayed constant at two and fell at seven others.

Major belt-tightening has taken place at Craven Council, with refreshments expenditure cut back by 76 per cent since 2007-08 to 202 in 2009-10. Members had agreed to cancel tea, coffee and biscuits at full council meetings.

Leader of Craven Council, Chris Knowles-Fitton, said: "Over the last two years we have carried out a major review of all items of council expenditure and identified over 2m in efficiency savings equivalent to over 20 per cent of our revenue budget. Cutting down refreshment costs is merely one of a long list of efficiencies we have introduced having recognised long before the present austere financial climate that our first responsibility was to concentrate scarce resources on maintaining front-line services."

The biggest drop between 2009-10 and 2008-09 figures came at North East Lincolnshire Council, where refreshments expenditure fell 65 per cent from 1,259 to 441. Ryedale District Council has spent nothing on meeting refreshments since October 2008, after they changed their policy to make only tap water available on such occasions.

The biggest year-on-year rise came at Leeds Council – where spending on refreshments at full council meetings rose 97 per cent from 3,804 in 2008 to 7,508 in 2009, but the council has denied the actual cost is rising by such an amount.

A spokesman said its accounting process had changed and this figure now included staff costs for external caterers which were accounted for elsewhere.

He said: "Nevertheless we are carefully considering the future arrangements to provide the best possible value for money."

Conference costs are questioned

Council officials have been criticised for spending nearly 4,000 to go to conference held just 29 miles from their Huddersfield offices.

Seven Kirklees councillors and officers attended a three-day social care conference in Manchester.

Some also stayed overnight at the National Children and Adult Services Conference.

A council spokesman said the total cost was 3,891.03 including travel, hotel rooms and fees and defended the decision to attend the "worthwhile" conference.

Opposition councillor Andrew Cooper criticised the decision to stay overnight in light of the spending cuts.

"I think the council should produce a simple report saying what Kirklees got out of this conference," he said.