Bristol taxpayers' money 'spent on unnecessary jobs'

More than £600,000 a year is being wasted on unnecessary council jobs in Bristol, the Tax Payers' Alliance says.

The group looked at how much councils across the UK spend on officers for diversity, Europe and climate change - roles it brands "highly questionable".

The council insisted the jobs are vital to investment and funding for the city and said the group's way of looking at budget cuts was "odd and spurious".

The report shows Bristol spent the sixth highest out of 433 councils.

The Tax Payers' Alliance, founded in 2004, is a right-leaning single-issue pressure group, which believes Britons pay too much tax.

Job cuts

Fiona McEvoy, from the alliance, said: "I think we need to ask people what they want and what they value.

"For most people that is frontline services, not political advice, not European grant-chasing, not climate change officers or indeed diversity officers."

A statement for the council, led by the Liberal Democrats since 2009, said: "This is a very odd and spurious way of looking at the very serious issue of budget savings.

"It is much more sensible and helpful for local taxpayers to look at councils' plans to save money across their whole budget."

It added that it had made £22m savings this year as a result of reshaping the council and becoming more efficient.

"Four hundred council posts have already gone, with a further 300 to go in the coming year," the authority said.