A Christmas hamper containing champagne was approved, but a £50 Boots gift card was refused, according to Middlesbrough Council’s latest register of gifts and hospitality.
The register, presented to the council’s standards committee, details gifts and hospitality received by councillors and officers between April 2025 and May 2026. While most were approved, a small number were rejected over concerns they could be perceived as influencing council decisions.
The report shows that all hospitality received by elected members during the period was approved. This included cinema tickets, tickets to two Middlesbrough FC home matches and attendance at UKREiiF, a major investment and regeneration conference in Leeds. One UKREiiF ticket, received from TVCA/Praxis, was valued at £1,095, while associated accommodation was valued at £200.
At officer level, however, there were two notable decisions involving staff from the council’s Staying Put Agency.
In December 2025, a housing adaptations officer was instructed to “respectfully decline” and return a £50 Boots gift card. The gift had been offered by the brother of a council service user as a gesture of gratitude for assistance provided with a disabled facilities adaptation grant.
Although there was no suggestion the gift was intended to influence the officer, monitoring officer Charlotte Benjamin concluded that it could be perceived as attempting to affect decisions relating to grant qualification.
A different decision was reached in relation to a Christmas hamper containing a bottle of champagne. While the exact value of the hamper was unknown, council papers noted it was clearly worth more than the £25 declaration threshold.
In approving the gift, Ms Benjamin noted the circumstances and advised that the contents should be shared among the wider team.
She wrote: “I note the context to this gift and the officer was clear about his and the council’s obligations. In the circumstances and given that the hamper is likely to contain perishable items my advice is to distribute the contents of the hamper between the team.”
Speaking at the standards committee meeting on 29 June, Ms Benjamin said the gifts and hospitality register is regularly maintained and reviewed, with most entries relating to civic, community and business engagements. She also explained that councillors and officers are not required to declare gifts worth less than £25, although some choose to do so for transparency.
The committee heard that gifts with a monetary value are more likely to be refused where there is an ongoing relationship between the giver and recipient, as this can create a perceived conflict of interest or power imbalance.
Ms Benjamin also warned that accepting hospitality before seeking approval could potentially become a disciplinary issue for council staff or a standards matter for councillors.
