A Dundee councillor has renewed his call for alcohol to be banned from the City Chambers in the wake of a report that Scottish councils spend more than £160,000 of taxpayers’ cash stocking their drinks cabinets.
Conservative member Derek Scott believes it was wrong for the council to increase its alcohol budget by a reported 30% this year when it was cutting its spending on charitable bodies by 3%.
The SNP administration leader Ken Guild defended the council’s actions and said Mr Scott’s figures were wrong.
The lone Tory member failed with his proposals over the last two years for the council to call time on drinks spending, but he has renewed his plea after the release of figures on the drinks bill of Scotland’s councils.
A tab of more than £160,000 was revealed for this year, and Eben Wilson of Taxpayer Scotland, said: “The amount uncovered here shows a lack of concern about taxpayers’ pockets.
“Our councils are in debt and are still spending too much. This excess has to stop.”
Five councils including Aberdeenshire offered civic visitors only tea, coffee or soft drinks, and Councillor Scott thinks Dundee should join them.
He said: “In recent years at the council’s budget setting meeting I have argued that the money allocated for alcohol purchases would be better spent on something else.
“At a time when the council is trying to avoid making cuts to frontline services, it ought to be looking to delete from its budget anything that is non-essential.
“The amount in the council’s budget this year for alcohol is £9,000, an increase of about 30% on last year’s figure. At the same time the council has made cuts of 3% in third party payments to organisations that include those that provide services to vulnerable people and that just doesn’t seem right to me.
“I don’t think anyone would be offended if they were to be offered tea, coffee or a soft drink instead of an alcoholic beverage.”
Mr Guild said: “We serve alcohol only at civic receptions and official events and Councillor Scott’s figures are out-of-date.
“The 30% increase to £9000 was in 2012/13 but this year our spending will be £5000 so there has been a significant decrease.
“Since we came to power in 2009 we have kept a fairly tight rein on hospitality expenditure. A major celebration or event can skew the figures but our spending on this is rightly controlled.
“Since time immemorial public bodies have offered alcohol to guests at formal or civic events and his is what we have done.
“Not to do so would cast us as cheapskates and would not make a good impression with our guests.”