CITY councillors have been issued with new tablets and smartphones – just 12 months after they were all given mobile phones.

Brighton and Hove City Council has issued £11,000 worth of smartphones and tablets to 42 councillors a year after spending almost £5,000 on BlackBerry phones for all 54 elected members.

The BlackBerrys have been rejected because they are deemed not suitable for councillors to view council agenda attachments.

Cllr Caroline Penn, lead member for IT, said the devices would help councillors access information 24 hours a day and save £30,000 a year in print costs.

Unions slammed the expenditure as “a waste” on handsets which BlackBerry has admitted have become obsolete - announcing last month they were ending production.

This year councillors have been offered a Samsung tablet and smartphone with 42 taking up the new technology and a dozen choosing to keep laptops.

The council spent £500 on two iPad Airs, more than £3,600 on 18 Samsung Galaxy Tabs and more than £6,500 on Samsung A3 and A5 phones.

Despite being labelled inappropriate for council work, three BlackBerry 9720s have been bought for £258.

The authority spent £6,369 on 60 Blackberry 9720s for staff this year in addition to £9,000 on 138 of the same models in the past two years.

Council staff, including social workers, housing inspectors and building control staff, also received 130 Nokia and Alcatel smartphones in 2016 worth almost £3,000 on top of more than £9,000 spent on 274 Apple, Samsung and Nokia smartphones last year.

Seven staff members have been given iPads at an average cost of more than £300 each.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said: “It is an absolute waste of money.

“I can’t understand why they would spend all the money on BlackBerrys if a year later they decide they are no good and need to get different smartphones.

“They must have known when they made the order last year that BlackBerrys were not suitable for reading attachments.”

Councillor Caroline Penn, lead member for IT, said the new devices would help councillors meet residents’ expectations to be accessible and contactable 24/7.

She said the council had worked hard to get the best deal, rejecting more expensive iPhones and iPads, and is paying for them through the sale of King’s House and savings.

She added: “Issuing tablets or smartphones to councillors is about being a Digital First City, bringing us and the city into line with virtually every other local authority in the country.

“Councillors currently use old or recycled Blackberries which do not enable them to access what they need in a user friendly format.

“Tablets and smartphones mean councillors can view agenda papers online which reduces print costs and saves the council around £30,000 every year.”

Replaced BlackBerrys and laptops are reused elsewhere in the council or securely disposed of at the end of their useful life.