South Tyneside Council publishes its spend on civic pride and community events
South Tyneside Council has published its annual report on its civic pride and community events spending.
The local authority hosts a variety of civic events throughout the year, including key annual community events and one-off occasions that are designed to foster community pride, celebrate diversity and honour service and volunteering across all ages and backgrounds.
South Tyneside Council’s third annual report will be presented to the meeting on July 24 - with the report covering the financial year from April 1, 2024, until March 31, 2025.
The report outlines a total hospitality spend of £14,926.45, which includes spending on catering, beverages, and ancillary costs across 261 events that welcomed more than 1,800 guests.
These events included visits from children, community groups, uniformed organisations and the armed forces community, as well as voluntary, charitable and sports organisations.
Visitors from other areas, the wider region and from overseas are also typically welcomed.
The report reveals during the 12-month period, the biggest events held by South Tyneside Council included Remembrance Sunday, South Tyneside Festival and the community Mayoress at Home event.
Other big events included inclusive celebrations such as the Mr Gay World contest and the Magic Festival’s 25th Anniversary.
Speaking ahead of the report being presented to the Council, Councillor Jim Foreman, Lead Member for Governance, Finance and Corporate Services, said: “Hospitality is just one of the ways we engage with a variety of groups and recognise those people who make South Tyneside a better place.
“For veterans and volunteers to schoolchildren and children in care, these events are a small but meaningful way to receive a special ‘thank you’ from the Mayor on behalf of the people of South Tyneside.
“They celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of people from all backgrounds and bring communities together through key public events such as Anzac Day or Remembrance Sunday.
“They also include multiple Mayoral engagements where youngsters, charities and community groups are welcomed to our historic town hall.
“For many people, particularly young people, it is often their first visit to this stunning building and a memorable and special experience they will remember in years to come.”
The expenditures in the report are not linked to individual Mayors, with many recurring civic traditions held during the financial year over the tenure of more than one Mayor.
It also highlights measures to improve cost-efficiency, which includes the use of in-house catering services for most events, reusable equipment and simplified hospitality formats such as offering a simple welcome drink or ‘toast’, or removing free alcohol completely and having a paid bar where suitable.
It states that on the rare occasion where larger caterers have been used, these have been sourced from the North East to support the regional procurement approach that South Tyneside Council is a part of.
Cllr Foreman added: “The spend on hospitality refers to the costs incurred in delivering events that promote civic pride. We publicly report civic spend in this way as part of our commitment to being more open and transparent.”
The full Borough Council meeting takes place on Thursday, July 24, at 6pm in the Council Chamber at South Shields Town Hall.
It will also be livestreamed directly on the Council’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@southtynesidecouncil.