The BBC Trust has cut its expenses bill by almost two-thirds since it was formed in 2007, from almost £150,000 to just over £50,000 for the financial year ending in March.
Total expenses for the 13 people who served on the trust for the six months between October 2014 and March 2015 were just under £23,000, down 17% on the £27,616 spent in the previous six months.
The total of £50,500 for the financial year was 16% down on the previous 12 months.
Some trustees racked up far larger bills than others, with trustee for Scotland Bill Matthews racking up a bill of more than £6,000, over half of which was for flights between London and Glasgow. Among those who were trustees for the whole six months, the smallest bill was £156.70, filed by Nick Prettejohn, who is also chairman of Scottish Widows and a non-executive director of Lloyds Banking Group.
BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead’s total expenses amounted to £1,676, nearly £1,000 of which went on taxis. She is paid £110,000 a year for a minimum of three days’ work a week.
Fairhead received the most hospitality recorded by the BBC, including invites to events from London Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands and Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, as well as a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Morgan Stanley adviser Philip Lader.
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