Derry's council spent £165 providing cupcakes for Belfast as part of culture bid which was blocked by Brexit

DERRY’S council spent £165 on cupcakes for an event in Belfast, it can be revealed.

It’s also emerged that the local council spent £230 on a return taxi to Belfast taking four of its staff to an awards ceremony in Belfast.

The costs emerged through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request lodged by the Derry News.

The request revealed that Derry City and Strabane District Council, as part of its to the promotion of the joint bid for the European City of Culture 2023, purchased 200 ‘branded’ European City of Culture 2023.

The council revealed that 100 of these cupcakes were delivered to Belfast on completion and submission of the joint bid.

The cost of the 100 promotional items purchased and sent to Belfast was £85 and their transportation cost was £80, the council has confirmed.

A council spokesperson stated: “Following receipt of various quotations from suppliers in both Derry and Belfast, the overall cost of purchasing the items from a local supplier in Derry and transporting them was comparable to purchasing them in Belfast.”

In November, it emerged that the joint bid between the cities for the title could not proceed after the European Commission said that a city within the UK will not be allowed to host the event due to Brexit.

Belfast City Council had committed £500,000 towards staging the bid, with Derry’s Council putting in £300,000.

A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council and Belfast City Council said that a total of £350,000 to date out of the total budget of £800,000 before the bid was halted due to the EU ruling.

It then emerged in January of this year that Derry and Belfast's councils ploughed ahead with their European Capital of Culture 2023 campaign despite private concerns that Brexit would derail the bid.

Meanwhile, the Freedom of Information request also revealed that Derry City and Strabane District Council spent £230 on taking four members of staff by taxi to an awards ceremony held at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast in December.

The four officers were in attendance to receive an award from UTV Business Eye for our Halloween Festival.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed that the four officers travelled together to the event in Belfast by taxi at a cost of £230 return, which the council described as the most ‘cost-effective’ option.

“Due to the lateness of the event and the extreme weather conditions on the night in question, this was the safest and most cost-effective option available to facilitate attendance at this important recognition event for the city,” the council spokesperson added.