Coventry City Council spent £17k on its annual meeting

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service

Coventry city council spent more than £17,000 on its annual meeting last month, it has emerged.

Hundreds of pounds were spent on flowers and printing as well as £8,000 on food and drink, £4,000 on security and £3,400 or organ hire.

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The authority said there were about 400 guests and it was the first meeting for three years due to the pandemic.

A council spokesperson said the event was "a special occasion in the civic calendar for many".

"This year marked the first time that the council was able to hold the annual meeting and mayor-making ceremony in person for three years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions of people gathering.

"The occasion also marked the end of the term of office for the previous Lord Mayor and the two Lord Mayors before this, as well as the creation of two honorary aldermen, which makes this year's event a little more unusual than most others."

Coventry's new lord mayor, councillor Kevin Maton, and deputy mayor, councillor Jaswant Singh Birdi, were officially appointed at the meeting.

Council leader councillor George Duggins gave a speech to the guests in which he identified the cost of living as one of the "major challenges" for residents.

The total spend by the authority was £17,638.33 which also included £1,325.00 being spent on a photographer and videographer.

Harry Fone, from the TaxPayers' Alliance, told LDRS that taxpayers were "fed up of footing the bill for lavish local authority events".

"After facing yet another rate rise this year, local households want to see their hard-earned money spent on frontline services, not mayoral pomp," he said.

"Coventry council must crack down on waste like this to keep costs down for residents."