Council's £15k staff bash attacked

Staffordshire County Council has come under fire for staging celebrations for staff and their families costing nearly £15,000.

More than 10,000 people attended the Labour-run council's celebration day at Shugborough near Stafford last month with garden games, gazebos, brass band, a face painter and jugglers.

Fiona McEvoy, West Midlands TaxPayers' Alliance campaign agent, said it was inappropriate to used thousands of pounds of public money to fund a "lavish staff do."

"We're in a recession at the moment and every penny counts, so people in Staffordshire will be angry to learn that their hard-earned cash is going to fund string quartets and 'garden games' for local authority workers. How could anyone argue that this represents value for taxpayers' money?"

The celebration day was to reward staff for achieving a good council rating from the Audit Commission and improving strongly. It also included an annual awards ceremony for staff.

Councillor Philip Atkins, Tory group leader, said he refused to attend. "While some employees have gone that extra mile, I thought it was wrong to be celebrating when members of my ward had lost their jobs at JCB and Fox's Biscuits in Uttoxeter," he said.

"I could not have held my head up in my community if I had gone," he added.

Council leader Councillor John Taylor said: "It was not a party, it was a celebration day. It took place on our grounds and used our hall. It did not cost a lot of money."

The council said the total cost of the celebration was £5,325 including VAT.

The All About You awards were paid for from a separate budget which is allocated on a yearly basis.

The total cost of that event was £9,570.25, including prizes to the 21 overall winners.