THE Burnley race riots could cost the borough £95,500.

The council's first draft response to the "disturbances" in June reveals £25,000 of "actual additional expenditure" and a figure of £70,000 for the time put in by staff who should have been on other duties.

It is said to have involved an enormous amount of time and resources. The chief executive and council leader are both members of the Task Force.

Other officers have also been committed to full-time work on the Task Force, including the community safety officer, public relations officer and equality officer. Other staff have given part-time support.

The total does not include the cost of printing the final report, which the response says could be "considerable".

The council is hoping it will be supported by the Task Force in attempts to recover the cost from the government.

The council has, for the first time, given its response to the disturbances but has not commented on the possible causes - that, it believes, is the responsibility of the Task Force.

A summary of recommendations was discussed at the full meeting of the council. They include: improvements to the marketing and promotion of the borough, improvements to the council's own internal and external communications, a programme of awareness on equal opportunities and race relations, improvement to the working relationship with Lancashire County Council, a full review of council expenditure, a review of local government funding, the support the council gives to young people and youth issues and a provision for a more open and transparent mechanism for funding voluntary and community groups.

One of the areas identified for future action by the council is resourcing. According to the report, Burnley has real and significant funding problems which need addressing by central government.

Of the 238 Shire District Councils in England, Burnley is the only one whose Standard Spending Assessment (government spending levels) is lower than it was nine years ago. It is also the sixth worst ward nationally for child poverty and the sixth highest spending district per head of population.

Some staff have admitted a loss of confidence in their work following the disturbances.

The report and summary of recommendations were approved by the council and will now be submitted to the Task Force.