FOR years Hereford City Council has treated itself to dinner and drinks on the taxpayer after Town Hall meetings. Now, six just-elected Independent councillors say they don't want anything on a plate when the money could be better spent.

So there's a spicy debate for members to get their teeth into when the full council meets next month.

The council spends between £2,000 to £3,000 a year on meals after full council meetings which are held 10 times a year.

Hungry for a fight, the Independents have put down a motion saying dining is out. But old hands think the case is thin when a free dinner is their only perk of parish office.

"It's not as if we're feasting, it's things like curry and rice, stew and dumplings, sponge pudding and custard. Our meetings start at around 4pm and can go on as late as 8pm with many members coming straight from work, so the meals are a decent gesture," said council leader Councillor Anna Toon.

"The annual bill for these meals probably runs into £2,000 to £3,000, but that's a lot less than the average cabinet member's expenses on Herefordshire Council."

Independent city councillor Phil Edwards said "probably" wasn't enough. His group has asked to do a little after-dinner peeking at the council's food and drink bills for at least the past four years to tot up actual amounts.

"Ultimately, the costs are met by local taxpayers. Political parties on the council would seem to have been treating themselves at public expense. This practice has to stop and the money put into community projects," he said.

Another new Independent, Councillor Julie Woodward, said she was surprised at the meals when the first business of the new council was done in just over an hour.

"Most authorities tend to offer either a meal or a small allowance for members and officers engaged in council business that goes on over four hours, practice to date at Hereford City Council would not appear to be the norm," she said.

Hereford City Council became a parish authority when Herefordshire Council was created in 1997. The city council is one of the biggest parish authorities in the country, but it has little real power beyond maintaining the city mayoralty and its own upkeep.

The dinner motion should come before councillors at their Town Hall meeting on June 26 - the menu for which has yet to be decided.