The visits to places like India, Jamaica, France and the USA were defended today by authorities who said they helped attract investment into the Black Country and Staffordshire.

And they say the total cost to the council taxpayer was reduced as most got their expenses funded by hosts or other public bodies.

Out of 10 councils asked, the total cost after re-imbursement was more than £47,000 since 2011.

Reported by the Express and Star. You can read the full story here. 

I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.