The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Reading Borough Council, via a freedom of information request, for the council’s travel spend in 2024/25 — covering the mayor, councillors and staff (including social workers).
Mayor Councillor Glenn Dennis travelled to Düsseldorf to watch a Euros group game, invited by Dr Stephan Kellar. He watched Ukraine beat Slovakia 2-1.
The council has clarified the costs: a return flight for the trip was £919.98, and a separate total of £2,420.13 was spent on taxi journeys to assist the mayor during other engagements. The council says the earlier figure of £2,420.13 only covered taxi travel and did not include the Düsseldorf flight; the trip had been coded under Town Twinning rather than general Travel Expenses, which the council says caused the omission.
The council also told reporters that mayoral travel costs in 2024/25 were about 12 per cent of the travel expenses seen in years when a mayoral car was routinely provided. The use of a mayoral car was discontinued in May 2023 and has not been reintroduced; since then mayors have generally used their own transport and only taken taxis when necessary, for example for late-night events where public transport or walking while wearing the mayoral chain would be a security issue.
Cllr Dennis said he was proud to serve and that he carried out the role with a commitment to public service and value for money. He added that he attended several hundred local community, civic, cultural and charitable events across Reading in 2024/25, used his own bus pass for the vast majority of engagements, and only used taxis when safety or late-night travel made this necessary. He said overall travel costs were lower than in years when a mayoral car was provided, and that the Düsseldorf visit reflected Reading’s twin-town links.
The council has been asked to identify the model of the former mayoral car and to explain why more than £900 was spent on the Düsseldorf flights.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
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