A MONMOUTHSHIRE cabinet member and deputy leader has defended claiming the highest amount of travel expenses among all councillors in Gwent.

Phil Hobson, deputy leader and cabinet member with responsibility for community development, has claimed £4,235.85 in travel expenses for the financial year 2013/2014. Blaenau Gwent Council’s entire travel expenses totalled £5,961.05, with Newport councillors claiming only £455.82 in mileage allowances.

Cllr Hobson, member for Larkfield, said: “I was worried and spoke to colleagues as I thought I would probably be at the top in Monmouthshire but I am quite surprised for all of Gwent. I have been screaming about it for the past eight months and warning people this would happen as I could see my mileage going up through the roof.

“It is a combination of things – we have been conducting a community boundary review and meeting all 33 of the town and community councils across Monmouthshire. The move of the council offices from Magor to Usk meant that there was more back and forth travel than usual and a longer commute from Chepstow to Usk than Chepstow to Magor.”

He added: “There were issues of scheduling when we first moved – where you would have one meeting in the morning and then another at 6pm. This meant more travel back and forth – the scheduling of meetings is a lot better now.”

Cllr Hobson says trips to Welsh Government in Cardiff and his role as the member for community development has added to the high mileage.

He said: “It is not unusual to do 700 miles in a month, even up to 1,000 miles. The whole place programme board covers all over Monmouthshire and involves meeting a lot of grassroots groups.

“The role of a cabinet member is a full-time role and has increased substantially since I have been in the cabinet. This means a lot more meetings with senior officers to evaluate the progress and cabinet members are doing a lot more management of the organisation than they have ever done before.”

He added: “I try to keep mileage to a minimum. I’m in on average four days a week and in every day next week.”

The highest amount of mileage from a Blaenau Gwent councillor was claimed by Cllr Keith Hayden, member for Georgetown, for £845.70 and for Newport councillors it was Cllr Paul Hannon, member for Beechwood, who claimed £311.92 in mileage.

Cllr James Ken, cabinet member for regeneration planning and sustainable development for Caerphilly County Borough Council, claimed £1,579.15 and the leader of Torfaen council Cllr Bob Wellington claimed the most out of Torfaen councillors with £1,681.20.