Lunches will not be claimed on expenses to minimise the burden on taxpayers

NOTTINGHAM’S commissioners will not be claiming lunch on expenses as they pledge to keep their costs to the city’s taxpayers to a “minimum”.

The three officials sent into Nottingham City Council were warned when appointed by the Government to avoid “extravagance” when it came to working lunches and social occasions.

The three commissioners can claim expenses for hotels, travel and meals – but the chief commissioner says he and his team do not want to put the effectively bankrupt authority into any further difficulties. Commissioners at other councils have claimed thousands in expenses, with one commissioner at Liverpool City Council having claimed nearly £650 solely for meals since his appointment in June 2021.

Expenses come on top of the daily fees paid to commissioners, with Nottingham’s lead commissioner getting £1,200 a day and the other two getting £1,100 a day. The commissioners can claim the fees for up to 150 days of the year, meaning an overall cost of at least £510,000 a year that Nottingham City Council has to meet.

In its appointment letters to the commissioners on February 22, the

Government said: “You are expected to ensure that acceptance of gifts and hospitality can stand up to public scrutiny. Similarly, care should be taken that no extravagance is involved with working lunches and other social occasions.”

Tony Mcardle, the city council’s lead commissioner, said: “I think the opportunity for an extravagant lunch hasn’t yet come along. As it happens, it’s a pretty personal point of view, my commissioner colleagues and I have decided we’re not claiming for lunches because we’d be eating anyway. Therefore, why should we be claiming from the council?

“We’re not claiming for lunches or evening meals. I’m not staying in hotels because I don’t live far away. My colleagues who do may well get their breakfast, I don’t know.

“I live in Lincoln, so I’m able to come on a daily basis, I’m not expecting to stay over unless there’s particular reason on occasion to do so. As far as expenses are concerned, we will keep this to the minimum.”

As well as Mr Mcardle acting as lead commissioner, the city council will also have a commissioner for finance and a commissioner for transformation.

The latter post has not yet been filled, but Margaret Lee has been confirmed as commissioner for finance.

Despite the concerns over the cost of commissioners, Mr Mcardle added: “This council is in significant financial distress. I don’t know how much the council has paid people over very many years to get it into this place. What I and my colleagues earn in the time that we’re here will be substantially less than that, whatever that sum is. We intend to earn what we do by helping get the council out of these difficulties rather than put them further into these difficulties.”