Tickets to see Shrek among gifts given to officers and councillors in North Norfolk
A rose quartz heart was also gifted
Last updated 19th Sep 2023
Tickets to see Shrek the Musical and a small rose quartz heart are among the two dozen gifts given to councillors and officers at one Norfolk authority.
Some 19 gifts were given to top members and officials at North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) between April 2022 and March 2023, including some from British Sugar, Cromer Pier Pavilion and members of the public.
All the items have been set out in a report by NNDC’s monitoring officer to members of the governance, risk and audit committee (GRAC) on Tuesday.
The member of staff to receive the most gifts was chief executive Steve Blatch, who was given two tickets to the opening night of the Cromer Pier Show in July 2022, an invitation to a “lunch event” and a conference dinner invitation.
Including the tickets for Mr Blatch, invitations for events at Cromer Pier were given to officers on nine occasions, including for the opening night of Shrek.
Cromer Pier and its Pavillion Theatre are owned by NNDC but is let out to an independent company.
Other gifts include boxes of chocolate and a rose quartz heart given by a member of the public.
Addressing GRAC, Mr Blatch said: “I think it is appropriate for officers, who are offered such tickets, to make a declaration, in the interest of transparency.
“We do have a unique relationship in that we own the pier and pavilion theatre. We have gone out to tender and we have a partner that operates that facility at no direct public cost anymore.”
He said there was a “close working relationship” between the council and the provider and tickets are deemed “not to be inappropriate”.
The only items listed as being accepted by a councillor were two large ceramic poppies worth £40 which were given to the council leader Tim Adams by Cromer Town Council.
Mr Adams is also a Cromer Town Councillor.