Councils in the North East spent £500,000 on airfares in three years, including trips to South Africa, Beijing and the United States.
The biggest spender was Sunderland City Council, with £210,000 from April 2009 to February this year. This included £62,000 on fares to Washington DC as part of a friendship agreement. It also spent £6,168 on flying staff to South Africa as part of England’s failed bid to host the football World Cup.
Newcastle City Council came second with a bill of £109,286 on flights. By contrast, Durham County Council, the largest local authority in the North East, spent just under £13,000.
The figures were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Matthew Sinclair, its chief executive, said: “It’s