A FREEDOM of information request has revealed that members of Oxford City Council have been on six trips across the globe since 2019.

The request was submitted by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a UK pressure formed in 2004 to campaign for a low-tax society, which have since criticised the council for the trips.

Figures show members of the council took six trips to locations as far afield as Russia and Palestine.
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The authority was responsible for over 3,000kg of CO2 emissions, according to estimates by the campaign group.

The trips were: t

wo councillors visited Padua, Italy in April 2019, one visited Krakow, Poland in November 2019, one visited Perm, Russia in November 2019, and one visited each of Leiden in the Netherlands, Bonn in Germany and Wroclaw in Poland in February 2020.

Two officials visited Ramallah in Palestine in February, and a further two visited Bonn in Germany in August.
In total, the trips also cost the taxpayer £2,708, with other costs funded by the host cities.

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Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: "Residents in Oxford won't be happy that they've been funding jollies abroad.
"While the county council threatens to hammer drivers with environmental schemes, city council officials have been flying to far-flung locations.
"Oxford City Council should be leading the pushback against this mad plan."

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This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @geeharland