Concerns have been raised after it was revealed £45,000 had been spent on curtains for the Kingston council offices last year.

The leader of the Conservative opposition, Cllr Kevin Davis, slammed Kingston council on Twitter for installing new sets of curtains at Guildhall at a cost of £45,000.

A tweet published on October 7 from Cllr Kevin Davis' Twitter account reads: “It emerges that Ed Davey's Lib Dem Kingston council spent £45k on curtains for three meeting rooms when they tell us times are hard and the council is bankrupt."

However, it has emerged the decision to install the new sets of curtains was made in December of last year, when Kingston council was still under Conservative control.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet, the leader of the conservatives Cllr Kevin Davis, said: “If they claim that the council is going bankrupt, which it isn’t, then why are they spending £45,000 on curtains?

“It’s right to invest, if it means you can derive new income but I have not seen a business case that it can create new income.

“They are doing weddings, but they’re not doing very many of them.”

The news comes a week after the council released a statement warning that “tough decisions will be needed to balance its books in this financial year.”

The statement, published on October 5, read: “Overall, the council needs to save £22m in this financial year and is working hard to recover the current forecast overspend.

“Of the £22m savings, some are currently at risk of not being delivered and recovery plans are being put in place to bring it back into balance.

“These savings do not start to tackle the £11m deficit in the special educational needs and disability schools budget.”

A council spokesperson said: “The decision to replace the curtains in the Queen Anne Suite and Council Chamber was made in December 2017.

“The curtains cost £45,000 to purchase and install but the potential revenue from the commercial hire of these two function rooms is expected to offset this capital investment.”