Council defends spending on awards ceremonies

Figures released by the Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group reveal the amount spent by each council on attending events during the financial year 2010-2011. The data was collected through Freedom of Information Act requests.

They show that North Lanarkshire spent more than £8000 on 12 events. The largest expenditure was £4172 on a corporate awards ceremony.

By comparison, Glasgow spent over £80,000 on events while more than 100 councils spent nothing.

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council said: “Staff award schemes play a huge part in boosting morale and recognising individual effort within a committed workforce.

“We do not squander public money on lavish ceremonies and our spend is among the lowest in the country.”