A NEW report has found that Derry City and Strabane District Council spent spent £5,000 on the design of a new logo.
And another council spent £2,100 on consultants to examine the potential benefits of a clown festival and comedy night.
The findings were uncovered by an investigation by London-based newspaper The Times which found a near £400 million spend last year among 266 councils across the UK which responded to a Freedom of Information request.
That figure overall was up almost a third over the past four years and demonstrated how some councils had increased spend on consultants despite cutting back on services.
The Times found Derry City & Strabane District Council spent £5,600 on a new logo and branding.
The Local Government Association, told the paper it would be a waste of money to employ full time staff for occasional help in specialists.
It also said consultant spend was a small part of council expenditure.
A spokeswoman for Derry City and Strabane District Council explained that due to the reform of local administration in 2014 and the merger between the former Derry City and Strabane district councils, a new suite of branding materials was required for the new corporate council body.
She added: “Much work on the rebranding process was carried out internally but due to additional pressures on resourcing following the merger, and the specialist nature of the work required, some elements of the rebranding campaign were outsourced to ensure the process could be completed within a reasonable timeframe with the required level of expertise.”
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council £2,100 on economic impact reports for a clown festival and comedy night.
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