Key Points
- Council officers at a West London council were found to have used a council credit card for personal spending, including haircuts, podcast subscriptions and greeting cards, according to information obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
- The payments were identified from spending under £250 between April 2025 and March 2026, which is the level below the amount councils routinely publish publicly.
- The council described these transactions as “errors”, saying they are often caused by an autofill function and that the money is repaid each time.
- One case involved a council officer who “inadvertently” used the card to pay £90 for a haircut, according to the report.
- The disclosure was made after the Local Democracy Reporting Service requested all payments under £250 for the relevant period.
West London (West London News) July 11, 2026, staff used a council card to pay for haircuts and fantasy football subscriptions in error, with the payments later identified through a Freedom of Information request covering spending under £250 between April 2025 and March 2026.news.yahooAs reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the issue emerged from a wider examination of small-value spending that councils are not always required to publish automatically, unlike larger transactions above set disclosure thresholds.
The council’s explanation was that the purchases were accidental, often linked to an autofill function, and that the money was reimbursed after the mistake was spotted. One of the reported examples involved a £90 haircut payment made on the council card.
How were the payments found?
The information was uncovered after the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked for all council payments below £250 in the period from April 2025 to March 2026.
Councils normally publish larger payments, commonly those above £250 or £500, but smaller items can only be seen through a Freedom of Information request.
That means public scrutiny of day-to-day card use can depend on how detailed the disclosure request is and how the authority records the transactions.
What did the council say?
The council said the personal purchases were made “in error” and that such mistakes are often caused by autofill when a payment card is stored on a device or in an account.
It also said the sums were paid back each time, suggesting the issue was not treated as a permanent loss of public money.
The report did not indicate that the council described the matter as a formal disciplinary case or a wider misconduct investigation.
Why does this matter?
The case highlights how small payments can still reveal weaknesses in internal controls, even when the amounts are later repaid.
It also shows the limits of routine public reporting, because spending below the disclosure threshold is not automatically listed in the same way as larger transactions.
For residents, that can make it harder to see the full picture of how council cards are being used unless they ask for the information directly.
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Background of the development
Councils in England generally publish higher-value payments as part of transparency rules, while smaller spending often remains outside routine public listings unless requested through FOI.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service used that route to examine spending under £250, which is how the accidental personal purchases came to light.
The current report sits within that broader scrutiny of council card use and the detail of spending controls in local government.
Prediction
For council taxpayers and local residents, this development is likely to increase attention on how payment cards are issued, monitored and reviewed by finance teams.
It may also encourage tighter checks around stored card details, autofill settings and reimbursement procedures, because those are the kinds of controls that can reduce accidental personal spending.
For journalists and campaigners, it may prompt more FOI requests into small-value council expenditure, especially where routine transparency rules leave gaps.
