Official Information Request - Catering costs

Sent: Wednesday, 1 November 2023 11:05 am
Subject: LGOIMA - catering costs

I refer to your LGOIMA request of 17 October 2023 regarding catering costs for the year ending 17 October 2023. Below is the information requested for the period 1 October 2022 to 27 October 2023.

What has Council spent on catering?
Total spend is $69,247

Who and what was it for?
A number of different suppliers were used for a number of different reasons ie: morning tea or lunch during elected members meetings (committee/council meetings), citizenship ceremonies, delegation visits, lunch meetings etc.

Why provide catering?
Generally catering is provided where meetings are of a lengthy duration (over 2-3 hours) and cover morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea periods.

What was the largest single spend and what was it for?
Largest single spend was $6,138 for the Business After 5 event hosted by Rotorua Lakes Council in December 2022.

Who does the catering?
Catering is provided by a number of different suppliers. The Business After 5 event was catered by Terrace Kitchen.

What does the food include? (examples of)
Examples of the general catering food include scones, muffins, sausage rolls, savouries, wraps, filled buns, club sandwiches, salads, slices, cakes, fruit platters.

What portion of catering costs includes alcohol?
Nil

Does the Council have a catering budget and what is it? When does this cover and how much has been spent of it?
Catering is an organisation-wide cost, however based on cost centre, catering for committee/council meetings (elected members) has the highest spend - $16,286.29.

Does the Council have any policy/rules on what is served? (ie: gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian options or in total)
Council does not have any policy/rules on what is served, however gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options are generally provided.

What is planned for the council’s end-of-year functions?

Elected members – Elected members and executive team members invited to a casual end-of-year celebration at a local café.
Staff – No specific end-of-year function is provided.

What is the cost attached to these? (If no exact figure know, estimates or budgets please)
Elected members – Council contribution of $20 per head. Balance paid by attendees.
Staff – Council contribution of $20 per head for a team/group Christmas function, organised by the individual teams/groups. Balance paid by attendees.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response/decision. The Ombudsman’s Office can be contacted by calling 0800 802 602, emailing info@ombudsman.parliament.nz, online at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz, or by post to The Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

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Regards