OPPOSITION Labour Group councillors have asked for more openness about who is spending what and where they are spending it following publications of details of the member’s budget.

Councillors on Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) are given a budget each to spend on local organisations to benefit the areas they represent, This year’s budget has doubled to £10,000 for each of the 75 councillors.

In previous years, council members have provided funding for things such as a new boxing ring, a log cabin, a minibus and summer activities for children.

However, Labour councillor Ben Powell is worried about some of the items on the list.

He said £2,500 was spent on 500 Royal Wedding commemorative mugs, which were distributed for free to residents in one small area just before the election.

He said: “I would like the council to go one step further and publish, in an accessible format, details about which councillor made each grant.

“Currently, the details published only identify the ward from which the grant originated.”

But Lynn Riley, Conservative executive member for community and environment, said ‘What we are doing is making council services go that much further into the very far corners of our community so that everybody has the sort of things that really make a difference.”

She said one of the projects she supported was a community barbecue which raised £800 for a community project.

Labour councillor Justin Madders said “We need transparency, not just for individual councillors so the public can see what their money is spent on, but transparency from the council about how money is to be used.

“Too often councillors are being pressurised into spending their budget on things the council should be paying for anyway.

He added he had been asked to fund clearing graffiti and putting up street lights which he felt should be come directly from council funds.