US Edition The expenditure, which totals more than £100 million on taxpayer-funded credit cards over the last three years, have been released as a database accessible using the searchable table above.
The database reveals details of the apparently jet-set lifestyle enjoyed by councillors and local government officials, with more than £2 million spent on travel over the last three years, including flights to Thailand, Kenya and Bermuda.
In total, 186 councils released data to the Daily Telegraph.
All of the councils only agreed to release information disclosing expenditure over £500 – potentially meaning there are tens of millions of pounds in additional spending on lower value items or services.
48 councils responded saying they do not use credit cards, or had no items of expenditure over £500 on credit cards in the last 3 years.
Examples of spending:
• Cornwall council spent £60,000 at 4 star Hotel Opera in Madrid
• Pembrokeshire Country Council spent £5.4m on items including theatre tickets, gift cards, wetsuits
• Essex County Council spent £617 on Forsham Cottage – a supplier of chicken housing and livestock
• Aberdeenshire Council sent staff to Barcelona, Slovenia, Oslo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Cannes, Brussels, Copenhagen, Gambia and Toulouse
Reporters: Heidi Blake, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Hannah Crocker, Guy Ferneyhough, Mia De Graaf, Andreas Masoura, Alice Farrell and Heloise Wood.
Developer: Azman Ellahee.
Data: FOI Act 2000, OpenlyLocal