Which Wirral councillor claimed £50 on taxis to and from a public meeting?

Which Wirral councillor claimed £50 on taxis to and from a public meeting?

Which Wirral councillor claimed £50 on taxis to and from a public meeting?

                                                 

I wrote recently to some of the councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority expressing my concern that there were two expenses systems.

The first involved amounts where councillors had paid out expenses and claimed the money back. The totals for each councillor are published annually and you can see the list for 2014/15 on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s website. This list also includes the extra £8,070 a year that each councillor on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority receives with some receiving more on top of this (such as the Chair receives an extra £16,140 on top of the £8,040). These amounts are in addition to what they each receive for being a councillor from their own councils.

However there is a “secret” expenses system for councillors where Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is invoiced directly. These amounts are not in the list above. My letter expressed the view that such expenses should be included and the reply I received is below.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue service letter about councillor expenses page 1 of 2
Merseyside Fire and Rescue service letter about councillor expenses page 1 of 2
Merseyside Fire and Rescue service letter about councillor expenses page 2 of 2
Merseyside Fire and Rescue service letter about councillor expenses page 2 of 2

As you can see above, the letter refers to the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulation 2003 and Regulation 15 means the financial records of payments to do with councillors have to be open to inspection.

So I recently went to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s headquarters in Bridle Road, Bootle and inspected these records. Below are two pages of an invoice for taxi rides by councillors that because Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service are invoiced directly don’t get included in the annual published lists.

Cabfind.com invoice  taxis for councillors page 1 of 2
Cabfind Ltd invoice taxis for councillors page 1 of 2
Cabfind.com invoice  taxis for councillors page 2 of 2
Cabfind Ltd invoice taxis for councillors page 2 of 2

I was astounded to find that a councillor from Wirral (Cllr Steve Niblock who is one of the three Labour councillors from Wirral on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) had taken a taxi from his home to the Fire and Rescue Service headquarters for a public meeting that cost £25 and then a taxi back costing a further £25 (total £50)!

The letter from Janet Henshaw stated “It was not possible to show travel & event bookings made directly by MFRA [Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority] (as opposed to members paying and then claiming back their allowances) due to the fact that this Authority uses an electronic software system to make each booking at the cheapest possible price for both members and officers.” and “MFRA [Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority] does not use any taxi firms“.

Cabfind Limited isn’t a taxi firm, but based on this statement you’d expect that taxi journeys made by councillors using Cabfind Limited would be the same or cheaper than paying for it themselves?

Below is an expense claim submitted by Cllr Steve Niblock for a journey when he has paid the taxi fare himself and claimed it back. The journey to the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service headquarters is from and to the same address as the Cabfind Limited invoice above.

Councillor Steve Niblock expenses claim taxi journeys
Councillor Steve Niblock expenses claim taxi journeys

The taxi journeys above were for £18.60 and £20.00. This is for exactly the same journey that when booked through Cabfind Limited (which Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service claim is “at the cheapest possible price”) was £25.00 and £25.00.

Had Councillor Steve Niblock walked to the nearest train station (Bebington) and got the train to the nearest train station to Merseyside Fire and Rescue headquarters (Aintree) the fare would’ve been only £3.85 each way (total £7.70). However there is nothing in the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority expense rules that states that councillors claiming back travel expenses have to travel by the cheapest route possible (such as by public transport).

Councillor Steve Niblock recently voted to close Upton and West Kirby fire stations and is part of the ruling Labour Group on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority that claims that the Conservative government doesn’t give the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority enough money.

Continues at Which St Helens councillor claimed £12 for a salmon dinner and a drink of Coke?.

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Expense claim form for Councillor Phil Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 (continued) £241.10 claimed in 1 week!

Expense claim form for Councillor Phil Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 (continued) £241.10 claimed in 1 week!

Expense claim form for Councillor Phil Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 (continued) £241.10 claimed in 1 week!

                                             

Councillor Phil Davies is a Labour councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere ward. During the period covered he was Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance/Best Value. The first eight pages of his expense claims I published on this blog last month.

However the page below was only provided last Friday, which accounts for a further £241.10 claimed (October 2013).

This breaks down to:

1) Mersey Tunnel tolls Fast Tag (£1.30 * 10 (5 return trips on 17/10, 18/10, 21/10, 23/10 & 24/10)) = £13
2) Return train from Liverpool to London for LGA Workforce Board meeting (21st October 2013) = £220.80
3) London tube for LGA Workforce Board meeting (21st October 2013) = £7.30

Total (for 17/10/13 to 24/10/13): £241.10

These were for meetings to see an unspecified Police and Crime Commissioner (which could be Jane Kennedy), a meeting of the City Region Cabinet, a meeting of the LGA Workforce Board (in London), a meeting of NWIUF (spelt incorrectly) and the LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership presumable the Liverpool City Region one).

In fact NWIUF is an error on the expenses form and should instead be NWUIF (which is the North West Urban Investment Fund).

For four meetings that are not at Wallasey Town Hall (Police Commissioner, City Region, NWUIF and LEP) Cllr Phil Davies should have included the place he was going to on the form. However, as he claimed Mersey Tunnel tolls for going to these meetings, it is assumed they are all outside the Wirral and to the east.

Looking on the bright side though, Cllr Phil Davies’s expense form is typed, which makes it far easier to read than those councillors who fill them in by hand! The total of £241.10 seems to have originally been a different figure, but then tippexed out and replaced with £241.10. However it is to be expected that the Leader of Wirral Council has a busy schedule and diary.

Cllr Phil Davies expenses claim 2013 page 1 of 1
Cllr Phil Davies expenses claim 2013 page 1 of 1

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Expense claim forms for Councillor Moira McLaughlin 2013 to 2014

Expense claim forms for Councillor Moira McLaughlin 2013 to 2014

Expense claim forms for Councillor Moira McLaughlin 2013 to 2014

                                                   

Councillor Moira McLaughlin is a Labour councillor for Rock Ferry ward. She claimed for the expenses of going to two conferences (plus the cost of meals). The first one was “Improving the outcomes for young carers” and the second one was a London-based conference titled “Challenges of Ageing Population” (thus covering both ends of the age spectrum).

For the first conference her expenses are London Tube costs to do with Oyster cards, hotel costs, dinner and lunch costs. For the second conference her expenses are for the train, tube costs, breakfast, evening meal and tea. However a breakfast claim here for £8.60 (which sounds like an expensive breakfast) was reduced to £6.00 because councillors have set limits on what they can claim for meals. Her two pages of claim forms are below.

Cllr Moira McLaughlin expenses claim 2013 2014 page 1
Cllr Moira McLaughlin expenses claim 2013 2014 page 1
Cllr Moira McLaughlin expenses claim 2013 2014 page 2
Cllr Moira McLaughlin expenses claim 2013 2014 page 2

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