Birmingham City Council spent almost £50,000 sending a ten strong official delegation to the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Among those on the trip for the ten days of competition were the Lord Mayor Anne Underwood and her consort and the new chief executive Dawn Baxendale.

This is on top of delegations from West Midlands Police , West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and the University of Birmingham who also went to observe the Gold Coast games in April.

Now Birmingham council leader Ian Ward, who did not fly out, has promised to ensure the city gets maximum value for money as it develops plans for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The delegation stayed at the luxury Watermark Hotel and Spa in the Surfers Paradise area of Gold Coast. The hotel was assigned by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

The breakdown of costs for the city council was:

  • Return flights £20,784.54 - officers flew economy class, the Lord Mayor and her consort flew business class
  • Hotel accommodation: £20,468.96 - hotel allocated by CGF.
  • Subsistance: £3,521.87 (meals, transport and other expenses)
  • Fee to attend observer programme: £4,246.68
  • Total cost: £49,022.05
Lord Mayor Anne Underwood

Those who went from the city council were:

Civic Duty staff

Observer programme - viewing operations

  • Director of sports, events and wellbeing
  • Acting assistant director of transport
  • Commonwealth Games programme manager
  • Project manager for the athletes village
  • Head of public affairs
  • Press and PR manager (also working with Commonwealth Games Federation media team)
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The length of stay varied. Two officials flew out on March 29 to attend a Commonwealth Assembly ahead of the Games. Four more went from April 4 and finally the Lord Mayor's civic group travelled on April 8. They returned on April 16/17.

The Lord Mayor and chief executive attended formal events as the next hosts, including the handover ceremony at which cllr Underwood delivered a speech in the Carrera Stadium. The Lord Mayor also visited schools during the trip.

Others viewed the sports venues, athletes village, security and media arrangements.

The Commonwealth Games is expected to cost in the region of £750 million, with three-quarters of the funding coming from the Government.

Cllr Ward said: "We've got to make sure we get full value out of that £50,000 we've spent by using the learning from the trip."

Watermark Hotel and Spa

He said that the delegation was the minimum possible number and that the CGF requested more.

"We only sent ten people, two of which were the Lord Mayor and consort who had to collect the flag. We kept this to the absolute minimum, .

"We had to go the hotel designated by the Commonwealth Games Federation and the delegation flew out economy, apart from the Lord Mayor and consort."

"People from Gold Coast are also coming over here to talk to us. The mayor has been very transparent about what they did that worked and what they did that didn't work.

"This Games will support 4,500 jobs in the West Midlands and generate more than £500 million for the regional economy, it is important we get it right."

Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Anne Underwood makes a speech as part of the handover ceremony during the Closing Ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium in the Gold Coast, Australia. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday April 15, 2018. See PA story COMMONWEALTH Ceremony. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use. No video emulation.

He said that one major issue was found transport in Gold Coast.

"They told people to avoid the city to reduce congestion and that was a mistake that London made in 2012.

"As result lots of businesses were complaining. So I think if we don't learn that lesson that would be disappointing. We will have to see the city is open for business and the buses, trains and trams are all running."

He stressed that the Observer programme is a standard part of any major global sporting event and at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in March Birmingham welcomed a delegation from the next hosts, Nanjing.

Last month it was revealed that the police had spent £10,000 sending five staff, including Chief Constable Dave Thompson, to Australia, on the fact-finding trip.

Mayor Andy Street combined his visit with business meetings, including talks with the Australia based owner of the M6 Toll road.