Essex Conservatives Reject Inquiry into £5.1 Million Spending

Essex County Council today rejected an Inquiry into the spending of £5.1 million on Council charge cards. This followed revelations in the local press regarding spending £87,000 in hotels and resorts, £3,000 spent in bars, night clubs and discos and various other items.

The Inquiry was called for by the Council's Liberal Democrat Opposition. They demanded transparency and openness on what has happened with taxpayers' money, to provide the information that residents deserve. The Conservative majority rejected the proposed Inquiry and failed to come up with any concrete proposals of their own to allay residents' concerns.

Proposing the Motion, Cllr David Kendall said:

"County Council staff work extremely hard to deliver services to local residents, particularly vulnerable children in the care of the authority.

However, this is public money and the Liberal Democrat Group proposed this motion in order to ensure that it is being properly spent.

"74% of the Council Tax our residents pay goes to Essex County Council and they have a right to know that their money is spent properly. If the Conservative Leader and Deputy Leader had agreed to speak to the local press when the story first broke, they could have addressed council taxpayers' concerns."

Cllr Mike Mackrory, Leader of the Opposition, added:

"We will continue to press the Council for greater transparency and openness on the use of Council charge cards."