Latest Coventry council hospitality gifts included sports events, meals and Greece trip

It includes a nearly £500 trip to Greece



Coventry council officers received over £2,000 worth of hospitality last year, new documents show. These included dinners, awards, sports matches and a nearly £500 trip to Greece.

Officials said they went to events to represent the council, develop relationships with key partners and attend networking opportunities. Details of gifts and hospitality received by councillors and officers will be looked at by an ethics committee later this week, 20 March.

These items are considered every six months and reviewing them helps "promote high standards" among council members and employees, a report for the meeting said. Usually registers of what has been received only cover a six month period.

But hundreds of pounds worth of hospitality for council officials in the first half of 2024 were missed from a previous report by mistake, papers for the meeting said. Among these were five events attended by the Chief Executive including a seat in the royal box when Coventry city faced Manchester United in the FA cup semi-final at Wembley.

These were worth a total £620 and were justified as representing the council as chief executive. The reasons for going also included details about the events which included a summit held in the city, a dinner at PWC for senior public officials and the region's tourism awards;

Senior officers at the council also received a total of £565 worth of hospitality at a major real estate and investment conference last May. These were mostly private lunches and dinners with groups from across the public and private sectors, according to the report.

The events took place at the UK's real estate investment and infrastructure forum (UKREiiF.) In the second half of 2024, officials received more than £1,000 in hospitality, more than double that of councillors.

The amount for officials included travel and accommodation worth an estimated £485 for a council Transport Innovation Manager. The report described the hospitality as: "Travel and accommodation
for a presentation of project DRS at an event organised by EU partners in Greece."

It said the costs were covered by the project and the justification for going read: "Presenting the developments Coventry are making in the Drone sector, delivering the introduction of Urban Air mobility. There are no personal gifts attached to the presentation."

Other hospitality included dinner and accommodation at two conferences attended by the Director of Finance and Resources, worth a total £300. The reasons given were to share learning on issues around local government finance and as a member of a professional body providing access to networks and information.

The chief executive also attended an England Lionesses game at the CBS arena and said this was to develop a relationship with a key partner and represent the council as chief executive by supporting the national women's football team. Officials also listed a couple of small gifts worth around £20-25 they had been given.

One was sent flowers for arranging a TV company's costume department to borrow a school crossing patrol uniform for an extra in an episode. Another recieved chocolates, flowers, bubble bath and a candle from a family they had assessed as foster carers after their work concluded.

Councillors declared £482 worth of hospitality in the second half of last year. Opposition Conservatives leader Cllr Gary Ridley received £300 worth of hospitality while attending a cricket match in the chair's lounge at the invitation of Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

He wrote that he accepted this "to represent the city at a key local sporting event and build links with other key regional stakeholders." Two Labour councillors received free theatre tickets. Cllr Ram Lakha accepted seven tickets worth a combined £122 for two events hosted at the Belgrade and Albany theatres, and Cllr Maya Ali received three tickets worth £60 to the Albany threate.

Both gave their roles as chairs of committees on the council as reasons for accepting the offers. They also said the benefit to the city was showing support for the local theatre and encouraging the arts sector.

Under council rules, certain things can be accepted by council employees as hospitality. These include meals that are part of visits or meetings and invitations to social events that are part of normal working life or where the council should be seen to be represented.

Officers can also accept personal gifts under £50 with a manager's permission, or refuse, give to charity or share with other colleagues others. Councillors have to declare gifts and hospitality as part of their code of conduct though it is not something they have to do by law.

A report for the meeting states: "The routine declaration of gifts and hospitality received should assist in protecting Elected Members from unfounded allegations of bias and facilitate good and clear transparent decision making." More details can be found in meeting papers for this week's Ethics Committee on 20 March.