Perth and Kinross Council has more than tripled the amount it spends on hot drinks and biscuits for councillors and officials, new figures show.
The council splashed out £1,750.65 on tea, coffee and biscuits in 2015/16, rocketing up from £522 the previous year.
The figures, released to The Courier under a Freedom of Information request, relate only to council meetings held in buildings not owned by the local authority.
Fife Council has also been criticised for spending close to £3,500 on hot drinks and biscuits in the last three years for elected members and officers.
Angus Council and Dundee City Council both claimed not to hold the figures.
Additionally, Perth and Kinross Council admitted it could not provide information about internal events.
A spokesperson for the council said: “While 2 High Street was closed for renovations the majority of council meetings since January 2015 have been held at buildings not owned by the council and therefore we have been required to pay for refreshments.
“From December this year, council meetings will be once again held at 2 High Street and these costs will be reduced.”
Fife, which slashed its budget by £38 million this year, has reduced the amount it spends on tea, coffee and biscuits from £1,788 in 2013-14 to £266 by 2015-16.
Linda Bissett, head of Democratic Services at Fife Council said: “It’s council policy that refreshments are no longer funded for internal meetings, including those between councillors and officers. If there are attendees from outwith the organisation, refreshments may sometimes be provided but costs are kept to a minimum.”
The figures are in addition to over £3.5 million spent annually on councillors’ salaries and other expenses in Courier Country.
Councillors in the four Tayside and Fife local authorities already cost the taxpayer over £3.6 million each year in salary, remuneration and other expenses.
Councillors are given a salary, which in Courier Country ranges from £16,725.96 to £39,418, depending on the level of their responsibilities and which council they work for. Some councillors have opted not to take their full salary.
Fife councillors claimed a total of £111,703.87 in expenses in 2015/16, which when combined with their salaries, amounts to a hefty £1,558,486.42.
Perth and Kinross councillors claimed £70,246.60 in addition to their salaries, creating a grand total of £852,861.71.
