LABOUR SPEND £20,000 ON THE INFAMOUS 'BLING BUS'

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 17th Jun 2009

The 'Bling Bus' which cost £30,000 a year just to run

Labour Councillors on the North East Community Assembly have agreed to buy the infamous New Deal for Burngreave 'Bling Bus'. It cost £130,000 of public money and was equipped with top-of-the range equipment. At the time the decision to purchase the custom made bus was met with widespread criticism due to it's price and the £30,000 a year running costs. But now the cash-strapped organisation is selling its custom-built 'bling mobile' to the Labour controlled Community assembly for a knockdown £20,000.

On board there is a £4,500 plasma screen TV, a £1,600 sound system, lighting costing £1,400, plus turntables and mixing equipment for DJs. Cllr Simon Clement-Jones Lib Dem Cabinet member for Finance and Customer Focused Services, said "I'm glad that Labour are seeing for themselves the kind of freedoms and flexibility that Community Assemblies can offer for local councillors and their communities. This could not have happened under the old system as everything was decided in the Town Hall. Personally I wouldn't support spending more than £20,000 on a 'Bling Bus'. However, it's down to local people in the North East Community Assembly to decide if they agree with their local Labour councillors."

Simon added: "It's concerning that New Deal for Burngreave made a £110,000 loss on the 'Bling Bus'. This money could have been spent on valuable local projects, such as getting more young people into work. Clearly the Labour Councillors involved in buying the 'Bling Bus' in the first place need to explain to the local people of Burngreave why they have lost out."