Free dinners for councillors - Gurnshire has spoken!

No doubt about that one. A chance now exists for Sandy, Liz, Graham and Laurie to show solidarity with the credit-crunched council tax payers of Nairnshire in simply stating that they will no longer accept free dinners at Glenurquhart Rd when they attend council meetings. It would be a small step in financial terms but it would show a significant lead in other ways and voters would remember them for it.

Inverness Councillor will no longer claim free dinners

Inverness member Drew Hendry SNP, is reported in yesterday's courier as recently cancelling his lunch entitlement with the authority.

Cutbacks at the Glenurquhart Road lunch club too?

The Courier reports on possible changes to councillors' free dinners:

'FREE lunches enjoyed by councillors could be scaled down from two courses to one in an attempt to shave £9000 off the local authority's headquarters catering budget.

The proposal comes just a week after Highland Council agreed cuts of £12.1 million and 66 job losses in its three largest departments - education, social work and transport.

It follows an Inverness Courier Freedom of Information request last October which found refreshments such as tea, coffee and biscuits, plus cold buffets and hot lunches for members, cost the local authority across the region £88,591.96 in 2008/9 - an increase of £6840 on the previous financial year.

More here ' Highland Council 'free' lunches could be slimmed down' If the elderly will lose the lunch club subsidy completely then shouldn't the Councillors lose theirs too - and take in sandwiches instead?

The Glenurquart Road free dinner scandal - Could Sandy solve the problem in a flash?

Yesterday we reported on the breaking news in the Courier concerning the cost of free dinners for councillors at Glenurquart Road. Well just to prove that we're not simply a bunch of gurning eijits here at Gurn HQ we have, for once, come up with a practical solution to solve this crisis for Highland Council. It might mean Sandy nipping out half-an-hour before lunch and handing over to one of the two salaried semi-convenors but we're certain it would work

Time for Sandy to take a piece to work?

'MORE than £350 of public money is being spent every working day on providing free food and drink for councillors and staff attending Highland Council meetings.' More on the Courier site:

'Huge spending cuts but councillors still get free lunch. '

The Gurn can reveal that Provost Liz believes it is time for councillors to pay their way. So when it comes to finding a spot at the mid-day trough it's time to get your wallets out folks!