Throughout 2014 , £1,860 a day was spent on Bristol City Council procurement cards including £686 on iTunes downloads . Staff at a council used payment cards to spend nearly £700,000 of public cash – including £170 on a pair of designer Ugg boots , £100 in a Ralph Lauren store in Barcelona and £44 in a tattoo parlour . The cards are intended for expenses including travel , office supplies and catering . But thousands of pounds were spent on fast food , iTunes and shopping trips abroad last year . Throughout 2014 , £1,860 a day was spent on Bristol City Council procurement cards , figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show . Overall , £680,000 was spent by council workers , with more than £4,200 on eating out , £9,664 for hotels at home and abroad , £37,894.11 online at Amazon and £686 on iTunes downloads . The 'outrageous ' spending even included Gay Times magazine , Krispy Kreme and fishing tackle . The council insisted the figure for a one-off £189.50 payment to Gay Times magazine was incorrect , and it actually spent £33 on a subscription to Diva magazine , a lesbian magazine , for its library service . A council spokesman said £32,400 spent in Asda paid for groceries to support people in respite care , and £10,000 spent in Ikea was to support tenants in high-needs accommodation . It failed to provide a proper explanation for £170 spent on a pair of designer UGG boots , £100 in a Ralph Lauren store in Barcelona and £44 in a tattoo parlour . Procurement cards are given to senior managers , some school heads , managers of care homes or social workers who need to supply goods to vulnerable people . Councillor Geoff Gollop , deputy mayor , said : ‘ We have processes in place to reassure ourselves that corporate cards are used appropriately . 'What you see is a council running its business , supporting vulnerable people and helping those who don ’ t always enjoy the same advantages as others. ’ 'Outrageous ' : Staff at Bristol City Council used payment cards to spend nearly £700,000 of public cash – including £170 on a pair of designer Ugg boots . Despite trying to defend the spending , the use of procurement cards has been slammed . Chief executive of the Taxpayers ' Alliance Jonathan Isaby said some of the payments revealed in the figures were 'outrageous ' . He said : 'The council must come clean about why these payments have been made , because they appear to be totally inappropriate . 'Taxpayers hand over their hard-earned money to the council for essential services - not for swanky restaurants , trips to the office and snooker outings . 'It is outrageous that taxpayers ' money is being used in this way and the council must hold people accountable for the spending . ' Local Government Minister Kris Hopkins said : 'Bristol City Council should be focusing its efforts on making sensible savings to keep Council Tax down and improve frontline services . '
Bristol City Council staff used cards to spend 37,894 of public money . This figure included £170 on a pair of Ugg boots and £44 in a tattoo parlour . Total of £nearly £700k spent online at Amazon and £686 on iTunes downloads . Cards intended for expenses including travel , office supplies and catering .