Taxpayers foot £2k bill for five-star hotel rooms as staff attend awards

Council chiefs today admitted they are spending around 2,000 on the accommodation but insist they are getting the rooms at the hotel at a "reduced rate".

But the move was today branded "unbelievable" as community groups face the axe due to cuts.

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Former Lord Provost Councillor Lesley Hinds said: "While it's great that staff are being put forward for these awards, to send that amount of people with the costs involved, particularly when we are going to be discussing cutting back on voluntary sector grants, is unbelievable.

"We keep saying that we are in dire financial straits and have to account for every single penny but somehow can afford to send a dozen people to spend a night in one of Scotland's best hotels.

"In these times we have to think carefully about how we spend our resources and about perception."

The 6VT Turnaround project, which has helped turn the lives of hundreds of young offenders around, faces the axe if it loses its council funding. Its director, Dot Horne, said:

"It's not very sensitive in the current climate and it just highlights the disparity of decision-making within this one council. In terms of the cuts to some of the smaller services, the amount they're spending on this one night would probably equate to more than their annual grant.

"I do appreciate that good practice has to be rewarded, but it also needs to be balanced."

Staff from the council's health and social care, children and families and services for communities departments will attend the awards event at the town's Fairmont Hotel before spending the night in the Old Course. Rooms in the Old Course – voted the world's most exclusive hotel in 2009 by Forbes Magazine – range from 165 per night to suites costing 960 at this time of year.

A council spokesman said: "It's a huge honour for the council to have been nominated at the Cosla Excellence Awards, which recognises outstanding achievements by local authorities.

"The staff attending have worked hard on these innovative projects which have all benefited many young and older people living in Edinburgh and have saved the council millions of pounds.

"Staff are our most valuable resource and it is only right that they are able to attend these ceremonies to see their peers recognise their successes."

The council has been shortlisted for three awards. One of the nominations is for the Re-ablement scheme which sees home helps do less for clients to encourage them to be more independent.

A scheme to combat youth offending via early intervention is also up for an award, along with the Job Education and Training programme helping youths at risk of leaving school without a job get a head start in their career.