First class train tickets, cream teas, tapas and tickets to see Yeovil Town Football Club were among the gifts accepted by Somerset councillors over the last six months.

Somerset Council has published its updated gifts and hospitality register, providing a list of all items worth £50 or more which have been either gifted directly to councillors or provided as part of wider hospitality.

Under the council's constitution, councillors must declare any such gifts within 28 days of receiving them and must notify the monitoring officer in writing to prevent any conflict of interest regarding future decision-making.

The updated list was published before a meeting of the council's standards committee in Taunton on Thursday morning (January 22).

The largest single gift was a first class any-time return rail ticket, provided in early-September 2025 by Great Western Railway (GWR) with a value of up to £300.

The gift was accepted by Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, and was used to attend a Network Rail event on the future of the 'Wales and Western' section of the railway.

Four councillors accepted tickets and hospitality at Yeovil Town FC over three separate dates in August 2025, each valued at £64.

The councillors in question were Nicola Clark (associate portfolio holder for culture and leisure), Federica Smith-Roberts (portfolio holder for communities, council housing, culture, equalities and diversity), Mike Rigby (portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets) and Jeny Snell (whose Brympton division includes the football ground).

Mmes Clark and Smith-Roberts additionally accepted the gift of tickets and cream teas at the Taunton flower show in early-August, worth £30 each.

Other councillors also accepted cultural gifts, with Councillor Mike Best (Crewkerne) and his wife attending the Yeovil mayor's charity ball in November 2025 (two tickets worth £50 each) and Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey (Taunton South) accepting two tickets for the press and VIP night at The Nutcracker at the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton in early-December (valued at just under £50).

Several councillors accepted hospitality in relation to public sector events – with Councillor Theo Butt Philip (portfolio holder for transformation, human resources and localities) parking in two networking sections including "drinks and tapas" while attending the annual Local Government Association (LGA) conference in late-June 2025.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adult's services, housing and homelessness, accepted two dinners while attending the National

Children's and Adults' Social Care Conference in Liverpool in late-November 2025.

One dinner was provided by Newton (which has been leading the council's transformation programme), with the other being laid on by conference sponsor Impower – each being valued at around £80,

In late-September 2025, Councillor Peter Seib (Brympton) accepted a £200 gift from the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP), comprising overnight accommodation in Bristol at £150 and an evening meal of around £50.

He said: "I was invited as an owners' representative to a meal arranged to celebrate 20 years of SWAP as a company.

"The council is an owning member and its predecessors were founding members of this Teckel company.

"I accepted the overnight accommodation considering the late finish in Bristol, the nature of the event and the unavailability of public transport options."

Council leader Bill Revans and deputy leader Liz Leyshon accepted dinner at the Castle Hotel in Taunton in October 2025, provided by the CCLA investment firm in which the council has invested "a huge amount".

Councillor John Cook-Woodman (who recently defected to Reform UK from the Conservatives) accepted a meal in the Houses of Parliament in mid-July 2025 provided by fire safety charity Electrical Safety First – though the amount has not been disclosed.

Finally, Councillor Kathy Pearce (Bridgwater South) accepted a 30-minute flight in a light aircraft during a twinning visit to Uherske Hradiste in Czechia.

She said: "The offer of a flight was made during a civic twinning trip to myself and members of the UK choir who were performing throughout the visit to Uherske Hradiste.

"I accepted the offer of the trip in good faith."