It has been revealed that Southend Council has spent thousands of pounds in taxpayers money on hosting award ceremonies in the past three years.

The figures uncovered by the Taxpayers’ Alliance through a freedom of information request, shows that Southend has spent £35,432 on holding award ceremonies since 2015.

Nationally the average spent by other local authorities is half this amount, at just £18,064. Other councils in the region have also spent less, with Basildon spending £22,762 and Chelmsford spending £15,809.

Southend has defended the events, saying that during this time period 24 ceremonies were held and wherever possible they arrange sponsorship in order to keep costs to a minimum. Their staff recognition event, known as Stars, is paid for entirely through sponsorship and at no cost to the taxpayer.

Furthermore, the council has highlighted that they spent £7,711 on the events in 2017/18 which was half the amount spend the previous year when the amount came to £15,938.

Councillor John Lamb, leader of the council, said the events are important for people who “give something back to the their community”.

He said: “The £35k quoted in this report covers 24 different events over three years, the majority of which are important events we hold for members of our local community. These include an annual student and staff recognition event for our adult community college, allotment and Make Southend Sparkle awards which celebrate our volunteering community and other events for childminders, schools and people working within Southend-on-Sea who give something back to the their community. 

"Having an appropriate celebration event is one of the ways we can say thanks to them for their important contributions to the local area and encourage more people to get involved in volunteering for example.

“We are always mindful of how we spend taxpayers money and wherever possible arrange for events to be sponsored which is something the Tax Payers Alliance praises in its report and is why our costs over three years are comparatively low.

“A very small number of events, such as the LGC and MJ awards, are national award events which staff have attended when we have been nominated for awards, and give us a country-wide platform on which to highlight the good work taking place in Southend and learn more about what innovative schemes and projects are taking place in other local authorities and agencies.

“It’s a good opportunity to share best practice and develop ideas for Southend going into the future.”

Across the country, the Taxpayers’ Alliance found that local authorities have spent a massive £6.5million on award ceremonies since 2015.

John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Families in the UK who work hard to pay for their council tax will be disappointed to discover that so many local authorities are still spending money on unnecessary extravagances.

“There’s nothing wrong with congratulating staff who work hard or celebrating local businesses, but councils should prioritise the essential services that they are paid to provide.

“It’s encouraging to see that so many councils were successful in negotiating sponsorship arrangements to pay for some ceremonies, and all local authorities in the UK should seek to do the same.”