MORE than £8,000 could be saved if Blackburn Borough Council scrapped its controversial practice of distributing surplus cash from expenses budgets to councillors.

That's the view of Blackburn and Darwen Liberal Democrats who have slammed the council for refusing to drop the policy which they believe could help save other services in the town.

Councillor David Foster said: "Like all other councils we pay members an attendance allowance for meetings. However any money left in the budget at the end of the year which has not been claimed is not saved but shared between the members."

He added: "Over the last few years this surplus has amounted to more than £8,000 per year. We believe this money should be used for some more useful purpose. In effect we are paying ourselves for nothing."

Party chairman Kevin Kirkham said: "This cash only amounts to around £130 per councillor yet perhaps it could have saved one of the jobs at Blackburn Museum."

Council leader Malcolm Doherty accused the Liberal Democrats of "nit-picking" and said the reason cash sometimes remains in the account was down to the prudence of the council.

He added: "We allow councillors £14.70 per meeting. We set the amount purposely low to ensure that the cash allowed by the Government does not run out before the year end, so in reality it is not a surplus but just the cash the councillors are entitled to."

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