A COUNCILLOR who claimed for almost £1,000 worth of food at Essex County Council’s canteen has insisted it shows how hard he works.

Figures requested by the Green Party revealed Rodney Bass had eaten £995 worth of free meals at County Hall–more than any of his colleagues.

The Conservative administration had previously ordered a review into the expenses system, which could see the free meals scrapped.

Mr Bass, who last year received £43,225 for his roles as councillor and cabinet member for highways, claimed the money showed how hard he worked.

He said: “These are nominal meal costs, which are supplied by the county council canteen. My day can start at 8am and finish at 10pm. Am I supposed to exist on no victuals at all? I sign the book for meals religiously. It does prove I do quite a lot of work.”

Mr Bass pointed to his record for claiming expenses, saying he had claimed “zero” for travelling from his home into work, and criticised the Green Party for requesting the figures.

He said: “Look at the amount of money I have reclaimed for travel – that is zero. Those who never eat at County Hall and have very low claims of mileage, maybe they are just staying at home.”

He added: “It’s intemperate to start to point the finger at those trying to work very hard for the community when they themselves appear very rarely at County Hall.”

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Councillor: Make them pay up

WELL-PAID council bosses should not be entitled to free canteen meals, according to Green councillor James Abbott.

Mr Abbott, who sought the food figures, said County Hall needed a canteen, but not one paid for by taxpayers.

He said: “We don’t dispute how hard councillors work and we completely appreciate that.

“But some of the councillors are on £50,000 salaries – that’s twice the average full-time wage for Essex. Should they be getting a taxpayer- funded meal on top of that?”