EXCLUSIVE by Joe Walker

More than £150,000 was spent on corporate credit cards by Canterbury City Council staff last year.

A total of 2,300 transactions were made by 91 card holders – an average of 25 each – on everything from flowers to fast food.

The figures, released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act, show the total spent as £156,483.

That equates to £3,000 a week, almost £500 a day and more than £17 every hour.

Of the total, £18,571 was recorded as being spent on hotels and resorts, including £2,325 putting up chief executive Colin Carmichael (pictured right) and three councillors at a two-day conference last July.

At the same conference, the foursome paid out almost £1,800 for two meals with associates, but the money was reclaimed from the Kent and Medway Improvement Partnership.

The two bills made up almost £8,000 spent in restaurants, while those with less-fanciful tastebuds racked up a £139 fast food bill. More than £1,300 was spent in bars and taverns, with off-licence purchases ringing the tills at £1,551.

The cards were also used to get people from A to B, with close to £10,000
spent on travel.

Railway was the transport of choice for most, with ticket purchases totalling £6,793, while £1,801 was clocked up in air miles. More than £1,000 was recorded under cruise liners with taxis and limousines costing £182.

Cars weren’t forgotten by card-holding staff though, with £4,315 spent at petrol stations.

Other notable buys included £1,159 in toy shops, £315 on flowers and £2,016 to art dealers and galleries.

Car rental totalled £2,650, with a £115 bill for pigeon repellent covering the bulk of £122 spent in pet shops.

The council said two purchases made in beauty shops were errors and had been paid back by cheque.

Canterbury City Council chief executive Colin Carmichael defended the use of corporate credit cards.

He said: “Corporate credit cards are now widely used as an efficiency measure to enable staff to make online purchases for things like stationery or equipment and eliminate the bureaucratic and heavily-administrative process of petty cash claims.

“Each bill is checked and counter-signed by the cardholder’s senior manager for accuracy and appropriateness. I am more than satisfied that council officers keep their expenses claims to a level that is reasonable and appropriate.”

Read the full story in this week's Kentish Gazette.