Ipswich council questioned over spending on Ed Sheeran site

According to the spending on the Government Procurement Card (GPC) by Ipswich Borough Council, the local authority has been spending £25 a month since 2019 to advertise merchandise from an exhibition dedicated to Sheeran that stopped in November 2020. 

However, given that the exhibit has not taken place for some time, opposition Tory councillor Ian Fisher has raised questions over the spending.

Meanwhile, the Labour-led council's portfolio holder for culture and customers, Jane Riley, said that the authority is continuing with the online shop on the website and will have a pop-up during Sheeran's upcoming Portman Road gigs. 

Ed Sheeran will be performing three gigs at Portman Road (Image: Charlotte Bond) The exhibition took place between August 2019 and November 2020 (Image: Archant) A GPC is a type of payment card used by government entities for low-value purchases, and councils are obligated to make these purchases public. 

Among the long list of purchases per month, which includes simple things like office teas, the council was also spending on an item entitled 'Ed Sheeran Shopify'.

The purchase in question is a website called Ed Sheeran: Made in Suffolk, which was used to advertise an exhibition in Christchurch Mansion. 

However, since the exhibition has ended, the council has not cancelled its subscription to Shopify - meaning it has forked out about £1,300 on the website.

The site currently sells exhibition books, plus T-shirts and tote bags.

Ian Fisher criticised the decision to spend money on the Shopify subscription (Image: Archant) Conservative group leader Mr Fisher believes that while the amount might be small, it is does not set a good example when other cuts have been made.

He also questioned how easily accessible the procurement card is for many people at the council. 

Mr Fisher said: "There seems to be far too many cards being used by far too many people.

"Ed Sheeran - a fine example that shows there is little control over what is being spent.

"Why are we still paying for something that clearly only benefits a worldwide superstar who has millions of pounds in the bank? To me, the only answer is that they have forgotten they are still paying for it."

Jane Riley, Ipswich Borough Council portfolio holder for culture and customs (Image: Newsquest) Mrs Riley added: "The council has maintained an online shop for the sale of exclusive Ed Sheeran merchandise following on from hosting Suffolk’s once-in-a-lifetime landmark exhibition, 'Ed Sheeran: Made in Suffolk'.

"This was an exhibition, exclusively curated for Ipswich Borough Council, featuring portraits by renowned artist Colin Davidson and photography by Mark Surridge as well as personal items portraying Ed’s journey from Suffolk schoolboy to global superstar."