Council defends its outlay on Mayor’s car

BRADFORD COUNCIL has spent over £23,000 in the past three years providing a BMW to take the Lord Mayor to public engagements.

The BMW 730d, which the council does not own, was leased out at a cost of £10,871 from March 2015 to April 2018. The taxpayer also had to pay £6,852 in fuel and £5,496 in maintenance costs for the car. It is valued at around £63,040, and the figures have led to criticism from the TaxPayers’ Alliance. But Bradford Council’s leader has hit back, accusing them of “petty council-bashing.”

In the same period Calderdale Council spent £15,298 on its two Mayors’ cars, both Skoda Superbs.

Kirklees Council spent £24,465 on the two Volvo S80s, with almost £19,000 spent on maintaining the two cars over three years.

Leeds City Council spent £14,027 on fuel and maintenance of its Jaguar XJ, which it purchased in 2013 as a replacement for its two ageing mayoral limousines.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are tired of hearing local authorities say they have no money left when there are still instances of excessive spending. Some travel will of course be necessary to conduct duties but families who struggle to pay their council tax bill will roll their eyes at the thought of their hardearned money being spent on Bentleys and Jaguars.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “It’s the kind of petty councilbashing we have come to expect from the TaxPayers’ Alliance who are in denial about the escalating demand on adult and children’s social care at a time when the Government are taking away all grant funding for local councils.

“The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress attend hundreds of community events a year and raise tens of thousands of pounds for local charities and good causes.”