Nearly £2,000 of council taxpayer money has been spent on trips for Reading councillors.
That has involved mayoral trips to the ‘twin cities’ of Dusseldorf in Germany and Clonmel in Ireland, and train travel at home,
The amount of money that went into paying for trips has been revealed in a Freedom of Information request.
The total spent was £1,937.93, a mix of flights, train and taxi journeys.
That involved two trips by Tony Page, Mayor of Reading for 2023/24 to Dusseldorf.
The first of these was a journey to the Invictus Games, a sports event for recovering military service personnel patronised by Prince Harry.
After the visit, Mr Page said it was a “pleasure” to meet the Prince and sent his regards from the Stephan Keller, Stephan Keller, Oberbürgermeister of the city.
The council paid £288.84 for flights, £30.25 for trains, £7 for a taxi and €23.10 for a taxi in Dusseldorf, presumably to get to and from the airport and the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
The second journey was for the official unveiling of Phoebe Cusden Square and Readinger Strasser in Dusseldorf in February.
For that, £124.59 was spent on flights, €28.80 was spent on train travel, €15 was spent on taxis in Germany and £15 was paid for the Railair bus service to or from Heathrow Airport.
The total amount of euros spent was €66.90.
Mr Page’s final overseas trip as Mayor was for St Patrick’s Day this March, with £451.24 being spent on flights.
Meanwhile, £1,021.01 was spent on pre-paid train travel for councillors in 2023/24, with tickets being booked by the councillor services team rather than claimed back on expenses.
It’s understood that these train journeys were used to attend outside body meetings such as the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel and Local Government Association, which former council leader Jason Brock was a member of.
READ MORE: The thousands spent on Reading councillor's trip to the USA
Justifying the expenses, a council spokesperson said: “The council is proud of its links with our twin towns which are strengthened by occasional visits, often to mark special occasions.
“For example, our longest running twinning arrangement with Dusseldorf was celebrated with the naming of Reading Street (Readinger Strasse) in February, which was attended by the then Mayor of Reading.
“The ceremony recognised the generosity of the people of Reading who responded to an appeal by former Mayor of Reading Phoebe Cusden to donate food and other supplies for the people of Dusseldorf after World War 2.
READ MORE: History made as first black Mayor of Reading is sworn in
“Our other twin towns of Clonmel, San Francisco Libre and Speightstown all have a special significance and connection with Reading’s rich history, and it is important we maintain our friendship with visits, which are reciprocated when representatives from linked towns travel to Reading, which we are always happy to host.
“All travel expenses claimed by councillors, whether pre-paid rail travel or claimed via expenses, are for approved duties as detailed in the Members’ Allowances Scheme which forms part of the Constitution of the Council.”
Cllr Glenn Dennis (Labour, Kentwood) visited Speightstown and Barbados at his own expense in the autumn last year.
He was the Deputy Mayor for 2023/24, and assumed the Mayoralty for 2024/25 at a meeting on Wednesday, May 22.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel