A SENIOR Hampshire politician has come under fire for jetting off to New Zealand on a £9,500 trip to find social workers.

Councillor Felicity Hindson, pictured above, returns today from her recruitment mission after an 11-day stay Down Under at council taxpayers' expense.

Cllr Hindson, the council's executive member for social care, was accompanied on her visit by the council's assistant director of social services for children, Steve Love.

The bill for the pair's 22,000-mile round trip included hotels, internal travel in New Zealand and expenses.

Cllr Hindson MBE represents the Meon Valley.

Council chiefs claim the mission will actually save council taxpayers money because any new staff recruited will replace expensive agency workers who are filling vacant positions.

Finding staff has long proved a struggle for county bosses who say high house prices put people off moving to Hampshire.

It is the second time that county bosses have gone to the other side of the world in the hunt for social services staff.

In August last year, the council sent a senior children and families social worker and a senior personnel officer on a week-long recruitment drive in Australia and New Zealand costing council taxpayers £3,000.

Both Cllr Hindson and Mr Love stayed at hotels in Christchurch and Auckland and the country's capital Wellington, travelling between the country's two islands.

They also visited one of New Zealand's leading experts in social work Mike Doolan who had been on secondment to Hampshire County Council four years ago when he helped revamp the county's children's services department.

News of Cllr Hindson's trip came on the day that Hampshire's part of council tax bills rose by 4.7 per cent.

The rise was even worse last year when thousands of Hampshire residents faced council tax rises of 15 per cent. Bills for residents now stand at £840.15 for an average Band D property compared with £734.67 two years ago - excluding the costs of fire and police.

Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber defended the trip which also looked at how children's services are organised in New Zealand.

But Brian Dash deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group branded the decision to allow Cllr Hindson to go on the trip "extraordinary".

He said: "It is amazing that the executive member needs to go there in this day and age with video conferencing. To imagine she needs to go there needs an awful lot of selling.

"It is clear we have a lot to learn from New Zealand but that is a job for officers. The Conservatives were very critical of us when they were in opposition but this is the longest trip I have ever heard of a councillor taking."

Labour group leader Councillor Bill Wheeler added: "I think it is a long way to go. I hope that it will be worthwhile. We will have to judge."

Councillor Ken Thornber said that the trip would actually save the council money it would have to spend on recruiting staff in Britain and would give insights into new ways of helping children and families.

He said: "If they have the impact of recruiting between six and 12 social workers where otherwise we would have to use expensive agency staff it would have been worth it."