Scarborough Council spends close to £10k on leaving party

The event, held at Scarborough Spa, saw the authority spend £4,800 on food, £895 on entertainment and £1,200 on drinks

The now-defunct Scarborough Council spent close to £10,000 on a final day leaving party for staff.

Eight councils, including Scarborough, were abolished on 31 March to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.

A leaving party held at Scarborough Spa ahead of its amalgamation cost taxpayers £8,988.

The cost of the event was revealed by a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The event saw the authority spend £4,800 on food, £895 on entertainment, £1,200 on drinks and £500 to hire the venue.

Other expenses included £355 for balloons, £299 for a selfie pod, £225 for a minibus, and £200 for a photographer.

Political party people

The authority also paid out £83 for the caterer's fuel costs, £15 for wristbands, and £4.72 for drinks tokens.

A senior ex-cabinet member on Scarborough Council was contacted by LDRS about the financial costs of the party, but they did not respond to a request for comment.

However, a North Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: "North Yorkshire Council played no part in sanctioning or organising any parties to mark the final days of any of North Yorkshire's former borough or district councils.

"The former county council did not host any events.

"Any decisions to hold events were made by the decision-makers in place at the former councils at that time."