Derry City Council's £50,000 bill for outside catering

Derry City Council spent almost £1,000 a week on outside catering during its last year in existence, it has been revealed.

The money was spent on providing food at a wide range of events organised by the council during the 2013/2014 financial year.

At one event, the council spent £525 on canapés, while cupcakes at a cost of £420 were supplied for another publicly-funded event.

The money was also used to provide tea and biscuits for council staff and at council meetings.

Derry City Council will cease to exist from midnight tonight.

The work of the local authority will be taken over by the new Derry City and Strabane District Council which is one of 11 new councils set up in Northern Ireland as part of the Review of Public Administration.

The latest accounts of Derry City Council show how much was spent on outside catering in the financial year from April 2o13 to March 2014. During that period, the council spent a total of £49,814.85 on providing food and drink at a wide range of events.

Some of these events were related to the City of Culture celebrations which were managed by the council.

For example, the council spent £420 on cupcakes for a Grand Vintage Ball which was held at The Venue at Ebrington as part of the City of Culture celebrations.

The council also spent £1,210.95 on ‘lunch packs’ for people involved in staging Radio One’s Big Weekend in Derry in May 2013.

The event, which was held over two days at Ebrington Square, was one of the highlights of the City of Culture year.

Another major music event was held in Derry in January 2014.

Former Westlife star Shane Filan was the headline act at the Hear The City Sing event which was staged beside the Guildhall.

For this event, Derry City Council spent £525 on canopies for the performers and staff.

The majority of the money spent in 2013/2014 on outside catering went towards providing food and drink for receptions hosted by the council.

A total of £5,582 was spent on providing buffets for the various receptions.

A total of £795 was also spent on providing a buffet for the council’s annual general meeting in 2013 which saw the selection of a new Mayor.

During 2013/2014, the Mayor hosted a series of tea dances at a number of venues throughout Derry.

The cost providing tea and sandwiches at these five events came to a total of £2,500.