Council's £38k on "away days" (From Your Local Guardian)

Hounslow Council's £38k on "away days"

1:00pm Friday 26th February 2010 in Local news By Ian Mason

Luxury: The Chiswick Moran Hotel

Bigwigs at Hounslow Council were treated to a £10,000 stay at a luxury hotel and spa at the taxpayers’ expense, we can reveal.

The cost of the “team building and business planning” trip emerged as part of a Freedom of Information request, which showed that £38,085.58 has been spent on out-of-office “jollies” between January 2008 and the start of this year.

The staggering sum includes an outing by 27 members of the children’s services team to the Old Fire Station, in Brentford High Street, where a £927.17 bill was racked up.

The bar and grill boasts a function room with its own bar.

Its website tagline reads: “Fabulous cocktails and fantastic food make a hot night out.”

Meanwhile, nine members of the corporate management team enjoyed a £10,310 trip to Pennyhill Park, nestled between Ascot, Sunningdale and Wentworth.

According to its website, it offers “everything from tennis and unmatchable five-star spa breaks and treatments to its own golf course, fine wines, superb dining and impeccable service”.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “There is no need for council work to take place at luxury spa hotels. It is infuriating for the taxpayers, who fund all this, to see their money squandered on jollies such as this.”

The borough’s senior management team notched up the biggest bill, with £13,444.35 spent over several away days. These included a trip to the Chiswick Moran Hotel at a cost to the taxpayer of £3,278, and a jaunt to Osterley Park, costing £3,625.97.

Four of the 33 away days in the past two years took place in neighbouring Richmond, where the authority spent £61,778 over the past four years on similar events.

Brentford ward councillor, Andrew Dakers, described the cost as “unacceptable” and questioned why Hounslow’s Civic Centre annex, which cost the council £2m, was not being used instead.

He said: “I am baffled that this is not being used more for these various meetings.

“Some of that spending is out of borough and in these economically stretched times we should be looking at supporting local businesses.

“If you want to have off-site meetings then the other option is to use community halls and schools, and then you are putting money back into the authority’s coffers.”

Mr Elliott added: “These away days are a costly frill that taxpayers simply can’t afford. Given that taxpayers have already spent a fortune on the council’s offices, it is absurd to spend even more money going elsewhere to hold meetings.

“It would be far better value to use the council’s existing facilities. Overstretched residents would thank the council for any saving.”

A council spokeswoman said: “We have interpreted ‘away days’ as being meetings, staff training etc. involving groups of staff, held off-site, over a period of one or more days.

“The council will generally run such events on-site, except where in-house venues are not available or there is value in using alternative venues.”

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