Thousands spent by city council on hotels

The council’s opposition leader Councillor Wendy Thompson said the hotels, some of which were luxury inns, ‘portray an image of a spendthrift council and therefore should not be booked’.

But a council spokesman said use of the cards is governed by ‘strict controls’ by the counciland some of the bills for hotels were event refunded by partnering organisations.

He added hotels were often used for mandatory training courses, adoption visits and conferences.

Figures for the financial year 2016/17 show where the cash was spent, by which department, for what purpose and when.

It showed that most of the money went towards lower-end budget hotels such as Premier Inn, £15,777 in the period, and Redwings Lodge in Wolverhampton, £9,103.

The council’s older people assessment and care management department booked accommodation at Jury’s Inn in Manchester costing £2,010.

And at the four-star Marble Arch Hotel in London, council officers spent £1,261 over three dates in April in 2016.

The K West Hotel and Spa in London was stayed in by a party including the council’s deputy managing director and strategic director for place, Tim Johnson, costing £2,474 in October in 2016.

The council said the costs of the hotel were fully refunded by Invest Black Country as part of the councillor’s visit to the MIPIM property conference. The hotel is also the closest to the venue and was cheaper than those suggested by event organisers.

St David’s Hotel and Spa in Cardiff, voted one of the best spas in the UK by Condé Nast Traveller, was booked at a cost of £83.76 by the council’s learning technologies in April in 2016.

Again, the council said the cost was refunded, this time by Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command.

Meanwhile, in Wolverhampton, the environmental health team spent £635.40 at Wolverhampton Racecourse for accommodation over two occasions and electoral registration spent £340 at The Mount Hotel in April in 2016.

The council said this was due to a nearby budget hotels being booked out.

The Harvard Inn in Ingatestone was booked for £554 by the council’s adoption team for a visit of a child and carers by a prospective adoptive family from Essex.

A spokesman said hotel was booked for its ‘best value’.

Also, the delivery and OCE development team spent £750.64 at Crowne Plaza hotel in Birmingham.

Councillor Thompson said: Council staff should always consider the cost to taxpayers and therefore should always think about value for money.“Luxury hotels are not appropriate even if Wolverhampton taxpayers are not paying for that accommodation directly as they will almost certainly be paying at least a portion if not the whole amount through other taxation.”

“Where Wolverhampton hotels are used there may be reasons of convenience and it may be considered helpful to the Wolverhampton economy however the Council will almost certainly have other meeting places which it owns which it should consider first. Five star hotels are not acceptable to Wolverhampton taxpayers and portray an image of a spendthrift council and therefore should not be booked.”

Lib Dem campaigners Sarah Quarmby said: "The council is slashing vital services while they are feathering their own nest with expensive stays in hotel rooms.

"While some of this spending is justified much of this is wasting hard working tax payers' cash."

But Councillor Andrew Johnson, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “In terms of hotels, we will always seek best value in terms of price, location and availability.”

“There are many reasons why the council may require hotel accommodation – often this is dictated by external organisations whom we will recoup the costs from. The hotel market is highly competitive and prices can fluctuate dramatically based on demand.”

He added: “Only 0.004 per cent of the council’s overall expenditure is spent via payment cards.”

“Payment cards are used extensively across the public sector to reduce bureaucracy when it comes to occasional, low-level transactions. Many businesses and suppliers offer their best prices online – e.g. for things like accommodation, transport etc.

“Payment cards, which operate like debit cards, enable public bodies to access those deals with the potential to save taxpayers considerable sums.

“Suppliers are also paid immediately which helps them with their cashflow. The use of payment cards at City of Wolverhampton Council is governed by strict controls which involve management authorisation and audit checks to ensure appropriate use and minimise the risk of fraud.

“We are committed to transparency and all expenditure on payment cards by City of Wolverhampton Council is published online and is available for public scrutiny.”