A tin of sardines, Tesco sarnies and a bill for a Christmas Day meeting ... We reveal city councillors' expenses claims.

Byline: MARCWADDINGTON

TINS of sardines, Tesco sandwiches and travel bills for planning meetings on Christmas day were among councillors' expense claims knocked back last year.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed members had attempted to claim last year for around 100 meetings they were either not entitled to claim for, which they didn't attend, or which never took place at all.

Travel expenses forms submitted by 32 out of the 90 members show nearly every one had fuel claims for meetings knocked back, one close to pounds 150, during the last year.

On one occasion, a councillor tried to claim petrol costs for apparently attending a planning meeting on Christmas day.

The expenses details follow a Liberal Democrat group motion stating it was "incumbent upon elected councillors to ensure they are not tarnished" by expenses scandals.

Labour group leader Cllr Joe Anderson has called for an inquiry into how the system operates to establish why so many mistakes were being made.

The most recent internal audit of the expenses and allowances system found it to be "adequate", although "some recommendations" came out of the recent probe.

But those who had claims knocked back said it was largely down to filing expense claims several months after the costs were incurred.

Cllr John Clucas had travel claims of pounds 148 rejected but said it was a council mix-up that led to the situation.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Clucas added: "In my own case, most of the claims I put in were for work I was doing as the Older People's Champion, but the fact that I was doing the role had not been validated by the council."

Cllr Clucas has now taken on the role of assistant executive member for health, care and safeguarding, incorporating the older people's champion role.

Fellow Liberal Democrat Cllr Andrew Makinson submitted an expenses form for a planning committee meeting dated 25/12/08 - Christmas Day.

What He said the claim had been put in around mid December and the date was meant to be that of the committee on November 25. you Have .co.

He added: "Yes it''s amusing and will give everyone a good laugh, but if Labour are trawling through councillors' expenses looking for mud to throw, and that is the worst they can find, then it only serves to make MPs abuse of their expenses look even worse.

"It''s embarrassing yes, particularly because much of the time I don''t even find time to claim for travel expenses."

Some councillors had claims rejected because their position at the council had changed and they were no longer entitled to them . Cllr Steve Hurst had around pounds 35 of claims rejected after announcing his resignation as executive member for corporate performance.

The officer's comments on the form referred to his resignation and his claims were for duties "no longer approved".

do think? your say at liverpoolecho forums Cllr Hurst said he was still carrying out the duties because he had not been replaced but that he "decided not to challenge them because I was suffering from depression during this time and felt this would only make matters worse".

Cllr Hurst had resigned following his conviction under the Representation of the People Act after being caught distributing leaflets smearing a Labour rival.

In total, councillors had pounds 643 worth of travel and food expenses claims rejected in the last year.

Of the 32 members who claimed, 24 were Liberal Democrats, seven were Labour and one was Liberal.

The Green Party was the only one not to claim for any travel or food receipts in 2008/09.

Labour group leader Cllr Joe Anderson said he "wondered whether all the claims were in good faith".

He said: "I shall be writing to the chief executive to seek that he asks the district auditor to look at some of these claims."

A council spokesman said: "Information about claims for travel and subsistence expenses is provided on the form and at induction courses for new councillors.

"However, it is recognised that when councillors take on additional responsibilities, they may be uncertain about what they are entitled to claim for. Officers provide advice on an individual basis, but it is very difficult to cover all eventualities in written guidance."

RED TAPE LEAVES A BAD TASTE ONE Liberal Democrat member said she no longer planned to claim for subsistence food expenses following her experience with a pounds 1.69 tin of sardines from Waitrose.

Cllr Berni Turner said that she had bought the fish along with her other shopping while busy at the council one day, but did not want to hand over the receipt for her entire shop.

But that wasn't good enough for council expenses scrutineers.

Cllr Turner said: "I did not have an individual receipt for this tin of sardines, so in the end I had to cut the outer wrapper off the tin in order to claim. I bought them, ate them and then ended up having to clip the thing to the expenses form to prove I'd purchased them. In the end I thought can I be bothered doing all this for this? I can't."

Cllr Ron Gould, executive member for health, learned while attending the opening of a new supermarket in Liverpool that the phrase "every little helps" is not in city accountants' vocabulary. He had a claim for pounds 1.60 for a sandwich knocked back while standing in for council leader Cllr Warren Bradley at the opening of a city centre Tesco.

Cllr Gould insisted his claim was legitimate, despite it being knocked back.

"I was asked to go to the opening of the Tesco as the date had been brought forward, so the date I opened it was not the date the council official had. I was in town all morning so I bought a sandwich, but they knocked it back. But I'm not going to go to war over it, it's just one of those things."

CAPTION(S):

GIVING UP: Berni Turner and Ron Gould left out of pocket