Spending watch

Spending watch: April 2011

It might be the first month of the new financial year but Sefton Council coughed up over £25.8million worth of taxpayers' money throughout April.

Council Spending Watch aims to give people a clear view as to how their taxes are being spent and what the council's priorities are.

The highest payment on the list remained Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority at a cost of just over £2.32m.

Precept payments featured highly on the list with £1.35m going towards Merseyside Police, £317,571 being invested in Maghull Town Council and £600k spent on Mersey Fire Authority.

Over £250,000 was spent on the Citizen's Advice in Bootle, with payments being listed under ‘corporate finance' and ‘third party payments'.

Sefton spent £46,605 on meetings with £1,575 on welcoming officials from Halton Borough Council and £19,784 for ‘educational psychologists' conference.

The council managed to splash out over £100,000 on catering provisions, almost all of this was for school dinners with nearly a fifth spent on Birtwistles butchers'.

Photocopying costs turned out at a hefty £62,000, postage a further £85,000 and the amount spent on printing and stationary was £56,000.

Over £131,000 was spent on Bupa Care Services, in three separated amounts listed under ‘third party payments'.

Sefton's supplies and services department also paid £2,686.63 on Carlsberg ‘catering provisions' and £4,186 on ‘clothing etc' for cleansing and adult daycare.

Libraries may be suffering from cutbacks but Sefton Council still managed to impressively invest in nearly £30,000 in books throughout April.

And for whoever said crime doesn't pay, the council gave £161,993 to Warrington Borough Council for a ‘Youth Offending Team'.

Emma Boon, campaign director for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: “The council spends taxpayers money and Sefton’s residents have a right to know what they are spending it on, so that they can hold the council to account and make sure they’re getting value for money.”