Wolverhampton council spent more than £20,000 on refreshments for meetings

The cash-strapped authority is in the process of shedding 2,000 jobs and is saddled with debts approaching £300 million. It is hoping to cut £134m from its budgets by 2019.

But over the year-long period, council bosses spent £20,342 on sandwiches, teas and coffees.

The figure covers all meetings held at the Civic Centre hosted by the authority.

The Taxpayers' Alliance has slammed the authority, and described the expense as a waste of public funds.

The figures came via a Freedom of Information request submitted to Wolverhampton City Council by the Express & Star.

In 2012/13, the spend was £25,007, £20,939 was spent in 2011/12 and £20,466 the previous year.

In 2009/10, the total spent on refreshments was £18,265.45, making a total of more than £105,000 spent on refreshments over the past five years.

John O'Connell, a director at The TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "We simply cannot keep wasting taxpayers' money like this when the finances are so squeezed.

"These seemingly innocuous teas and coffees build up, and the costs are now more or less equivalent to the cost of a social care nurse - and taxpayers will be clear about which is more of a priority.

"Spending like this has to be cut out if taxpayers are to see their council tax deliver the services they deserve."

Council spokesman Tim Clark said the figures included meetings that did not involve elected members.

"The figures provided to the E&S via the FOI request included all public meetings that take place at the Civic Centre - the majority of which don't involve councillors such as school places appeals," he said.

"Councillors, many of whom have day jobs, work long and often anti-social hours serving the people of Wolverhampton and receive very basic refreshments."

The authority's own analysis over the period from December 2014 to March 2015 revealed the cost of refreshments for each of the city's averaged £9.60 per month, he added.

Councillor Zahid Shah, who represents the St Peter's ward, said: "£105,000 is quite expensive; it's a lot of money. My view on this is that divide £105,000 up and it gives a number of admin staff a job.

"I appreciate that refreshments are needed for certain things but if you think about it the money could have gone towards keeping the wardens going.

"Teas are coffees are not a problem but they do not cost £20,000 a year. Obviously people need to look at this."