Glasgow City Council under fire for six-figure civic car spend
Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney says the local authority's £108,000 on Lord Provost cars since 2015 'strikes the wrong note'
Glasgow City Council has spent nearly £108,000 on luxury cars for the Lord Provost over the last three years.
An FOI from the Taxpayers' Alliance found a six-figure-sum has gone towards leasing three Volkswagen Phaetons since 2015, as well as fuel and vehicle maintenance.
£73,501 was spent on leasing, £20,461 on maintenance and £13,699 on fuel, giving a total of £107,661 between April 2015 and March this year – before the local authority was gifted a Rolls-Royce for the Lord Provost’s use.
The total for Glasgow City Council is more than double the next nearest Scottish council, although some local authorities – including Edinburgh – did not return figures for Lord Provost vehicles.
The £108,000 is also twice the spend of similarly-sized councils like Manchester and Birmingham.
Speaking to Clyde News, Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney said: "Looking at the context of the pressure local government has been under - indeed with people in Glasgow now £210 a year worse off than before austerity - to see this level of spending on civic cars in the last three years just strikes the wrong note.
"Surely these measures should be the first things to see cutbacks as opposed to the likes of nursery provision and free swimming lessons for children."
Commenting on the findings, John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are tired of hearing local authorities say they have no money left when there are still instances of excessive spending. Some travel will of course be necessary to conduct duties but families who struggle to pay their council tax bill will roll their eyes at the thought of their hard-earned money being spent on Bentleys and Jaguars for politicians to attend functions.
“40% of councils didn't lease or buy cars, so all other local authorities should follow that example and encourage civic leaders to use cheaper forms of transport. Every penny wasted on excessive travel expenses is money that could be going towards social care or bin collections."
In response to the findings, a Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Changes have been made to transport arrangements within the council that have allowed us to end the lease on a Volkswagen Phaeton and its associated costs.
“This has led to an immediate saving in our transport budget."