Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council spent almost as much on mayor's chauffeur as it did on community funds for King's Coronation

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) ratepayers paid around £40,000 for their first citizen to be driven to and from on average 550 mayoral events in year 2022 to 2023.

The Local Democracy Service asked if the council had reviewed its chauffeur policy.

A LCCC spokesperson said: “The mayor’s driver supports the mayor at receptions and functions as well as providing support to the mayor’s office and Member Services Unit.

“A review of the post was conducted following the review of public administration in 2015 and the outcome supported the continuation of this post.”

Lisburn North DUP councillor, Scott Carson held the chains of office in the last council chamber as he ratified the £50k budget for the council’s community spend on the King’s coronation.

The total amount was later increased by £5,500 to provide £500 each to all local groups who had applied to the funding.

Details relating to the mayor’s car and driver were revealed following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

The response shows that an Audi A8, 2017 was bought from Belfast Audi dealership for £30,228 excluding VAT.

The vehicle is changed every 10 years with a potential renewal in 2027 – so costing ratepayers £3,000 a year.

For the financial year 2022/23 it cost £5198.60 to have the car on the road, including tax, insurance, test fee, fuel, tyres, service kit and annual MoT wash.

The mayor has three drivers in total including one principal driver and two casual drivers to provide cover for holidays and other absences.

The main chauffeur is contracted to 37 hours per week with the casual drivers working on average six hours each.

The FoI stated that the main driver was on a NLC scale 5 (13-18) pay, which last year stood between £12.93- £14.17 per hour.

The council was asked for to provide costs for any over time work carried out by the drivers or the need for agency workers. With a rate for casual drivers of £14/hour the total outlay stands at £8,755.67.