A south London council has spent more than £6,000 on takeaways, coffees and food deliveries since 2022, new data shows. Labour-run Southwark Council has been criticised for splurging £6,276 of taxpayers’ money on online food deliveries and takeaway chains including Domino’s and Papa Johns.
The council has defended the figures despite harsh criticism from the Liberal Democrat opposition, claiming that some of the expenditure was necessitated by needing food at short notice in emergency situations, including for families and children in their care.
Data obtained from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request shows the council spent £2,983 on Domino’s while £1,152 was spent on food delivery service UberEats and £1,437 on Deliveroo. A further £469 has been spent on Pret A Manger and £81 has been spent on Papa Johns.
The figures detail expenditure from various council departments including Resources, Strategy and Communities and Children and Adults Services since 2022. The spending forms part of an overall amount claimed through expenses for “subsistence” which totals £39,991.
A Southwark Council spokesperson said some of the money had been spent on buying food at short notice in emergency situations, including for families and young people in their care or emergency housing situations.
However opposition Liberal Democrat councillors said the spending shows “a culture of waste at the top of the council” and accused the council of spending public money on “indulgent extras rather than frontline services or local priorities”.
Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Leader of Southwark’s Liberal Democrat opposition called the spending “frankly insulting” and accused the Labour-run council of spending money “as if it’s from their own pockets”.
Cllr Chamberlain said: “During a cost of living crisis, when the council is raising council tax and asking everyone to dig a bit deeper to supposedly fund local services, it’s frankly insulting for our Labour council to instead be spending taxpayer cash on posh coffees and pastries and indulgent takeaways. They’re not even supporting local and independent businesses.”
He went on to say the Southwark Lib Dem’s alternative budget would “scrap unnecessary spending like this” and would put “every penny” of taxpayers’ money towards fixing local services and helping residents.
In response, a Southwark Council spokesperson said residents are at the heart of everything they do, and as a way of saying thanks, the council sometimes pays for catering at events where local people are invited and included.
A Southwark Council spokesperson added: “We also sometimes have to buy food at short notice in emergency situations – for example for families and young people in our care or for emergency housing situations such as when a home is flooded.
“Wherever possible we use local businesses for catering, although this is not always possible especially in an emergency where we need to buy for local residents in need.”
