Council chiefs have given a detailed explanation for thousands of pounds of spending by officers on procurement credit cards that seemed to include £900 on ‘fish and chips’ and £132,000 at Amazon.

The move comes after Peterborough resident Tom Holland quizzed councillors at a full Peterborough City Council meeting last month about the spending during the ‘23, ‘24, ‘25 financial years and asked if it was all necessary, represented value for money and complied with local authority rules.

Mr Holland submitted a list of the items that he claimed had been bought on the procurement cards.

Now council officers have compiled their own list of the amounts spent and why the items purchased were necessary.

A £900 bill for 'fish and chips' paid by Peterborough City Council was actually for the hire of an eatery as a polling station

placeholder image — A £900 bill for 'fish and chips' paid by Peterborough City Council was actually for the hire of an eatery as a polling station

The council’s record includes:

£900 on fish and chips: Paid to the Marigold Tavern, in Crowland Road, for use of their venue as a polling station.

The council states: “Fish and chips was shown on the statement, perhaps because they have a fish and chips takeaway service in the village.

"This payment was paid via the PCard as the venue owners insisted that this was paid at the time of booking and would not wait for the details to be set up on the financial system.

"We could not afford to lose a polling station venue, so paid via the PCard."

£132,000 on Amazon

The council states: “Our figures show a spend of £113,767.86 across a total of 975 transactions, involving 36 cardholders.

“Amazon is used primarily for small value items that are needed quickly.

Resident quizzes Peterborough council over use of procurement cards where spendi...

"An example is Clare Lodge which is a secure children's home operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with accommodation for up to 16 young people and over 100 staff.

" Amazon is used to procure a range of items required for the safe operation of the home and to support the needs of young people in our care, from clothing and toiletries to activity items and security equipment.”

£160 on Pandora jewellery

The council stated: “The only historical Pandora spend was £57.99 on 08/10/25 which was against an allowance for a young person's birthday, and £197.98 involving three young people on 05/01/23, 27/11/23 and 15/12/23.

"These relate to a ring purchased with Christmas gift allowance plus some of the young person’s saved pocket money and the other transactions were for items purchased with Christmas gift allowance. The young people concerned are looked-after children.”

Other spending includes £16,807.45 at Tesco across 97 transactions, involving six cardholders: £24,727.75 at Argos across 126 transactions, involving 14 cardholders for white goods and homewares for care leavers funded by leaving care grants accounts; £11,299.10 at Curry’s across 31 transactions involving 10 cardholders, £6,336.47 across 50 transactions involving 12 cardholders at Asda for groceries funded by leaving care grants, housing needs or for the House Project.

How children and young people in care benefit from P-card spending:

Councillor Mohammed Jamil, the council’s cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said: "As a corporate parent to around 430 children, the council has duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children it looks after. We also support care leavers as they move towards independence, including where they are moving into their own accommodation.

"In practical terms, support for care leavers may involve helping a young person obtain essential household items, furnishings, clothing, food, bedding or other items needed to set up and maintain a safe and suitable home.

"Those young people who need our support do not have a parent to help them when they move into their first home on their own and that is why the council support is so critical.

Expenditure at retailers such as Argos, B&M, Tesco or similar stores may appear unusual when viewed only as a supplier name or transaction line, but such spending properly relates to meeting the council’s statutory duty to support children and young people.”

He added: "Our Client Income Team, which manages the finances of individuals who lack mental capacity, has been issued with a P-card that is routinely used to purchase goods and services on behalf of individual clients from several of the providers listed.

"Typical purchases include items such as beds, bedding, furniture, TVs, mobile phones, and other household goods.”