East Midlands Mayor spent more than £9,000 on chauffeur services
Authority says travel arrangements allowed Claire Ward to work while covering the region, including Newark and Nottinghamshire
The East Midlands Mayor spent more than £9,300 on chauffeur services over the past year, according to newly released figures from the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Claire Ward, whose authority covers areas including Newark and wider Nottinghamshire, spent £9,328 on chauffeuring services between March 2025 and February 2026.
The figures, obtained following requests by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, show most of the spending was with Nottinghamshire-based provider Pinnacle, which describes itself as a luxury and executive chauffeur company.
The authority said the spending was lawful and made using a government-issued corporate credit card.
Additional figures also showed spending on overseas travel and accommodation linked to investment and trade visits, including flights to the United States and France.
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office said the East Midlands is a large region to cover and that chauffeur services allowed Ms Ward to continue working while travelling between engagements.
They said: “On those days when the Mayor needs to be in multiple places over a single day, we use a local car hire company which has enough seat space so that she can make calls and catch up on email correspondence.
“This is a better use of her time than spending three or more hours driving herself.”
The authority has also previously said there are safety and confidentiality considerations linked to mayoral travel, and that Ms Ward is not currently permitted to drive a pool car under existing legislation.
The newly released data also included nearly £2,700 spent on flights to the USA and France, alongside more than £4,200 on accommodation.
According to the authority, the US trip involved meetings with investors across Chicago, Columbus and Detroit, while the France visit related to the international business conference MIPIM in Cannes.
A spokesperson said: “Mayor Claire represents the East Midlands on investment and trade delegations, and the associated expenses are in line with those duties.”
The combined authority’s own expenses policy states members are generally expected to use public transport where possible, with taxis intended for “rare circumstances”. It also says overseas travel should represent value for money.
The authority has previously stressed that its use of corporate cards is in line with other authorities of a similar size.