TRIPS abroad by county councillors are costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds a year, a special investigation by the Kent Messenger Group can reveal.

Information released by Kent County Council following a request we made under the Freedom of Information Act has shown that leading county councillors have travelled extensively to Europe and America in the last two years, with the costs of some trips running into thousands of pounds.

Many of the trips on official council business were for conferences, seminars and fact-finding visits. Others were for cultural exchanges, workshops and training "away days".

Councillors have travelled to France, Belgium, Holland, Hungary, Finland and Norway with journeys to many of Europe’s capital cities, including Paris, Oslo and Brussels. One councillor even travelled to Cannes, the French Riviera resort better known for its film festival.

Some have travelled much further afield, recording visits to key American states such as Washington, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco.

Councillors have mounted a strong defence of their travels, saying links with other countries have helped bring vital investment into the county.

Over the last six years, around £100m has come to Kent, much of it in the form of EU grants. They also say learning from other countries has helped Kent develop innovative ways of providing public services.

Cllr Alex King, KCC’s cabinet member for regeneration, made the most trips of all 84 councillors between 2003 and 2004.

He said: "These are certainly not junkets and jollies. We are in the business of getting inward investment, promoting tourism and lifting the economic wealth of the county. You cannot do that just by staying within its boundaries."

Cllr Paul Carter (Con), KCC's cabinet member for education, whose trips included a nine-day stay in San Francisco in February, said it was important the authority learned how other countries were tackling under-achievement in schools and improving vocational education.

He said: "Obviously, best practice will not always be in the UK and we have a lot to learn from our European and North American colleagues."