Outcry on 'wasteful' tax cash spending

Transport authority Centro spent £140,000 of taxpayers' money on communications consultants to find out what people thought of congestion charging.

And Advantage West Midlands spent around £13,000 on a Government lobby group – despite being a Government body itself. Across the country more than £38million was spent according to the Taxpayers' Alliance which has blasted the "wasteful" use of cash. The figures came from Freedom of Information Act requests made by the alliance.

Responses showed that West Midlands transport authority Centro paid a company named as Fishburn Hedges to manage "public communications and public debate" surrounding congestion charging, as well as other transport projects including red routes.

It was eventually decided that local congestion charging was not justified for the West Midlands and the company helped to publicise the outcome.

Centro spokeswoman Babs Coombes said today: "Fishburn Hedges are a communications consultancy employed to assist with communicating West Midlands joint transport work between the seven metropolitan authorities and Centro."

Taxpayers Alliance spokeswoman Fiona McEvoy said: "It's shocking that thousands of pounds have been wasted on expensive consultants to try and push through the failed congestion charge scheme.

"The taxpayer has paid an extortionate amount to promote a scheme that was hugely unpopular with the public from the outset.

"This is a highly questionable use of our cash and West Midlands taxpayers have every right to feel angry about it."

The figures also revealed that Advantage West Midlands spent £7,503 with the New Economics Foundation Think Tank and £5,875 with the New Local Government Network.

The New Economics Foundation campaigns for ways to boost the economy without damaging the environment and the New Local Government Network campaigns for elected mayors.