Mileage claim for remote Teams meeting ‘genuine mistake’ says council

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

A Gloucestershire councillor tried to claim mileage expenses for attendance at a meeting which was actually held remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Tewkesbury Borough Council refused two mileage claims during the last financial year, it was revealed earlier this week.

This information came to light after newly-elected Councillor Graham Bocking (R, Northway) asked what checks are in place to ensure the expenses process is not abused by members.

The checks are undertaken by democratic services officers and signed off by the head of service.

During the 2024/25 financial year two mileage claims were refused.

In one instance, it was not possible to verify that the councillor attended the meeting and on the second occasion the meeting for which mileage was being paid was held remotely via Teams.

How much was claimed or who the elected member is has not been made public.

The council has been asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to reveal the councillor’s identity.

However, they have refused to say stating it was a genuine mistake and the expenses were not paid.

Speaking at the meeting on September 30, Cllr Bocking said: “I was shocked to hear a member had tried to claim mileage for a remote meeting held on Teams.

“I’m grateful to democratic services for spotting this and refusing payment which is encouraging and shows the system works.

“I work in the private sector and I know if I submitted a mileage claim for a meeting held remotely via Teams it would lead to a disciplinary investigation.”

He asked if the councillor in question would go before the standards hearing.

Lead Member for Governance Gemma Madle (Isbourne and Winchcombe Independents, Winchcombe) said the member was not referred to the standards committee.

“We all make mistakes occasionally. Sometimes meetings are moved from in person to Teams,” she said.

“As you say, we have a process that picked up this error.”

A Tewkesbury Borough Council spokesperson said: “While we would publish the name of a councillor if public money had been fraudulently claimed, in this instance it was a genuine mistake made as a result of a councillor’s busy schedule – and the expenses were not paid.

“There is a system in place to support councillors when they submit claims for expenses – which worked exactly as intended and spotted the error early on before any payment was made.

“As such, it wouldn’t be appropriate for council officers to comment further.”

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