Councillors have approved around £12,000 in spending on international travel expenses for councillors and council officers.
Councillors in the Policy and Sustainability committee signed off on a number of international trips, including the Lord Provost and two others who will take business-class flights to New York to attend NYC Tartan Week.
The total cost of travel for the Lord Provost and his two colleagues to the Big Apple will cost £6,500, and the cost of sending a council officer to a transport conference in Barcelona is £1,000.
Costs for four council officers to attend the start of the Tour de France which is also in Barcelona, will cost an estimated £5,000.
The travel is estimated to produce around 3,750kg of carbon emissions.
The SNP group’s finance spokesperson said that ‘no tangible benefit’ to the city had been highlighted by the prospective trips, and that the money should go towards council services instead. This year is the 250th anniversary of US independence and the Lord Provost will march in the parade down Sixth Avenue and attend other events leading up to the parade such as the Kirking of the Tartan and an afternoon of music and dance in Bryant Park. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is also sending dancers to the event which is attended by hundreds of Americans and ex-pats and the Grand Marshal is Sam Heughan, star of Outlander.
Cllr Mandy Watt the finance convener said the travel was important for “representing the city on the international stage” and learning lessons from what is happening in other cities.
The council leader will visit the Bloomberg CityLab mayor’s conference in New York – for which the costs will be paid by the event organisers.
A description of the event in a report for councillors says it includes an ‘off-the-record, mayors only event’ that allows participants to meet subject matter experts in issues cities face.
Meanwhile, the transport conference in Barcelona is set to discuss ‘practical insights, shared challenges and innovative approaches’ to urban transport delivery and safety.
The organisers are covering the travel for Transport Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, but the council will pay for the council officer attending.
Council officers say that staff going to Barcelona for the Tour de France’s Grand Depart is essential as the city will host the same event in 2027.
It adds that “the visit will instruct the safe delivery of the event in Edinburgh”, and that it will “investigate sustainability initiatives” which can be applied to the city’s hosting of the event.
Cllr Mandy Watt said: “As Scotland’s capital, it’s important that we’re represented on the international stage along with other major cities – including others from Scotland – as a means of promoting the city, building relationships with leaders from around the world and learning from our counterparts in different countries.
“The Lord Provost’s attendance at this year’s Tartan Week, alongside other civic leaders from around Scotland, has been requested to “strengthen the enduring ties between Scotland and New York City” and will offer several opportunities to support and promote Edinburgh globally.”
She added that having city officers visit the transport conference would let officers and elected members learn from “approaches taken by other cities”.
Cllr Watt said that the attendance of the four officers at the Tour de France Grand Depart would be “invaluable” to Edinburgh’s planning for its hosting of the event.
SNP councillor and group finance spokesperson Stuart Dobbin was opposed to the spending. He said: “While we know these Labour and Lib Dem Councillors want to jet off, there has been no tangible benefit to the City highlighted from these trips.
“This year the SNP Government gave Edinburgh Council £17.2m in extra funding. That money should be going towards housing our citizens, supporting council services and improving people’s lives, not spent by Councillors on their own travel and hotel bills.”
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
