KCC’s Foreign travel: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

On July 14 last year we informed you that officers of KCC had visited the following 13 countries: New Zealand, Iceland, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Moldova, Greece, Italy, Spain, Holland, Denmark and France.

In the financial year 2017/18 we can tell you that a number of KCC officers have visited 17 foreign countries in the course of their duties:  Belgium, Bulgaria, Corfu, Corsica, Crete, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Poland, Romania and Spain. In total there are 334 invoices totalling £47,046.97.

Below are all the destinations KCC officers visited. The number next to them represents the number of invoices related to those trips.

Amiens 5, Antwerp 5, Barcelona 6, Bastia 4, Beauvais 1, Belfast 4, Belgium 2, Bethune 1, Billund 5, Bordeaux 7, Boulogne 3, Breda 3, Bremen 7, Brindisi 3, Brugge 2, Brussels 118, Buurtzorg 3, Calais 1, Cantabria 5, Cologne 1, Copenhagen 2, Corfu 3, Corsica 2, Delft 3, Dieppe 2, Dublin 2, Dusseldorf 5, Eindhoven 9, Esbjerg 4, Finland 3, Ghent 9, Hannover 4, Hardelot 7, Helsinki 2, Ioannis Kapodistrias 4, Kortrijk 1, Lecce 1, Lille 12, Middelburg 6, Milan 4, Rennes 6, Roeselare 1, Romania 6, Rotterdam 5, Rouen 4, Saint-Gilles 1, Santander 1, Sofia 1, St Malo 3, Stockholm 1, Strasbourg 8, Suceava 2, Tallinn 7, The Hague 10, Torun 1, Tournout, Belgium 1, Turnhout 2, Ulrecht 2, Wimille 1

Now one of those trips was to Helsinki, Finland; which included the Chief Officer, Cabinet Member and senior colleagues in Finland. Who the KCC Chief Officer or the Cabinet member are is not made clear.

Also last year we informed you that KCC’s office in Brussels cost £14,065 in 2016/17. For the financial year 2017/18 the Brussels office cost £8167.30. According to the foreign travel expenses there are 118 invoices relating to Brussels.

Now much has been made of KCC chauffeur car costs, however to put it into perspective it has dropped from £71,717 in 2007/08 to £26,980 in 2017/18.

Are the costs outrageous. We think not, but as always we’ll leave you to make up your own mind.

The Shepwayvox Team – Dissent is NOT a Crime.

PS All spreadsheets are KCC’s and were taken from the Accounts Inspection 2017/18.