Senior civil servants splurged tens of thousands of pounds sending staff to a ‘boozy’ property event in the south of France, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Dozens of officials spent three days in the sun at the annual Mipim real estate conference in Cannes in March.
A total of more than £170,000 of taxpayers’ money was splashed out on sending more than 60 civil servants and council officials to the bash, known for alcohol-fuelled networking.
At the same time, UK householders braced themselves for steep council tax rises as part of what was dubbed ‘Awful April’.
Last night Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Local government’s annual soiree to the French Riviera gets more insulting with each passing year.
‘With residents struggling through a long, difficult winter, council staff are in the south of France toasting their near universal failure to hold down council tax bills.
‘Councils need to urgently stop these boozy bashes.’
Mipim is the world’s largest property gathering, where lawyers, agents, bankers, developers and landlords network on a sea of champagne.
One past attendee joked ‘important meets must be done in the morning’ because ‘afternoons can turn to chaos once the rosé starts to flow’.
Another past attendee said: ‘I’m not sure my liver could handle a classic Mipim any more.’
According to data obtained in Freedom of Information requests made by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Department for Business and Trade spent nearly £78,000 sending ten mandarins to the event.
Homes England, a Housing department quango, footed a £30,689 bill for eight staff to attend.
The most expensive bill per head was racked up by Bury Council who splashed out more than £12,000 on one official’s trip – suggesting they may have travelled business class.
Salford City Council spent £11,690 on four officials while Newcastle City Council splurged £10,000 on four employees. Belfast City Council spent £8,206 on five staff.
Manchester City Council clocked up a bill of £7,376.52 on hotels for six staff and Wigan Council £5,760 on two officials.
An attendee from Liverpool City Council filed expenses for soya milk, while one from Manchester City Council did so for goats cheese with bread and honey.
Homes England said the event was a ‘showcase’ for investing in the UK, as did the Business Department which said the cost to taxpayers was less than under the last government.
Newcastle City Council said attendance was vital to ‘compete’ with other cities. Bury Council said the bash helped to attract regeneration and jobs.
Manchester City Council said its attendance costs were the ‘cheapest’ available at the time of booking and some expenses related to a contribution to a marketing partnership for Greater Manchester.
