Somme visit's costs slashed

THE council's bill for sending a representative to an annual ceremony marking the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme has been cut by around a third.

Deputy council leader Steve Cardownie attended the event in the French village of Contalmaison this year, and new figures reveal that his trip cost just £623.40.

The previous year, council leader Jenny Dawe's trip cost £987.61 – partly due to a late booking as it was only a short while after the 2007 election – while former Lord Provost Lesley Hind's visit cost £727.24 in 2006.