TRAVEL trips abroad by senior county councillors included visits to China, America and Hungary and cost the taxpayer more than £20,000 last year, the Kent Messenger Group can reveal.

The details of more than 20 foreign visits made by senior county councillors were released to the newspaper group under the Freedom of Information Act.

They show that throughout the year, councillors once again travelled to a series of destinations for various conferences, summits, fact-finding missions and to drum up business investment.

But the number of visits abroad fell by about a third compared with the previous year, with far fewer elected members travelling abroad on council business.

Half of KCC’s ten-strong Conservative cabinet made no trips at all, compared with two in 2005.

The costs have also fallen significantly from about £50,000 that was spent in 2005.

Council leaders have again insisted that forging links with other countries is bringing investment into Kent and helping improve services.

The travels of leading county councillors included a six-day trip to China in October by education cabinet member Cllr John Simmonds and four council officers that cost £2,850.

During their stay, the group visited various cities and provinces including Shanghai and Chongquing.

According to KCC, the visit enabled “the exchange of information and experience at all levels as a contribution to the enrichment of school education and [the] dissemination of best practice on educational issues.”

Cllr Simmonds was accompanied by council leader Paul Carter and schools boss Graham Badman for a three-day trip to Lisbon at the start of 2006. The group went for a forum for European local government leaders organised by Microsoft. During their stay, which cost just under £1,000, KCC secured a pledge by the company to contribute £250,000 to plans for a new secondary school academy at Romney Marsh.

A three-day visit in March to the popular holiday resort of Cannes in the south of France by Cllr Alex King, deputy council leader, and Cllr Graham Gibbens, former cabinet member for regeneration cost £2,033.

According to KCC, it provided “a cost-effective method for promoting Kent’s inward investment opportunities” and an opportunity to forge “new contacts of interest for Kent.”

KCC’s efforts to build on links with Virginia in America saw senior councillors make several trips across the Atlantic. They included visits to discuss the failed fight plans for direct flights from Manston’s Kent International Airport and KCC’s involvement as a sponsor of the Smithsonian Festival in Washington.

In October, Cllr King spent five days in the capital holding meetings with representatives from the authorities in Virginia to discuss the flights plan, which has now been scrapped. The trip cost £3,263.

In December, Cllr King spent five days in Hungary, meeting regional government leaders to discuss KCC’s links with the council of Bacs-Kiskun. The trip, also attended by two council officers, cost £1,030.

In the same month, county councillors Mike Hill and Richard Long, along with five council officials and accompanied by journalists, attended a launch event detailing the route of this year’s Tour de France, which will come through Kent. The trip, which was subsidised by SEEDA, Kent district councils and the Office of The Deputy Prime Minister, cost £2,074.

Cllr King said KCC’s effort to forge links with international partners was bringing enormous benefits to the county.

“We do what we think we need to do and nothing more and we maintain the principle that whatever is done is done as cheaply as possible. It [foregn travel] is bringing dividends to Kent as a whole, not just KCC, particularly for trade and inward investment reasons.”

He said it was crucial Kent exploited its international connections to help deliver the tens of thousands of jobs expected under the Government’s growth agenda in the Thames Gateway and Ashford.

“One of things happening as a result of our connections with Virginia is that we are staging an investment seminar in Washington which will be all about promoting the Thames Gateway. It will be the first time the Gateway has been promoted in North America. It is no something the Government has suggested but we feel we need to maximise our opportunities.”

Establishing foreign trade links helped build Kent’s reputation as a place to invest, he added.