The cost of democracy

Sometimes the Freedom of Information Act is useful for sweeping, investigative stories; at other times, for digging around in the detail.

Remember the Sky Leaders' Debate at Bristol's Arnolfini way back before the election?

Remember the reams of protesters, and the reams of police officers?

We wondered how much all that policing cost - and the FOIA is a wonderful tool for that type of detail.

Now we know: the total cost to Avon & Somerset Police was £118,710.

As you might expect, the vast majority (£114, 642) went on officers.

To sustain them, £497 was spent on "subsistence" and £3,155 on "feeding" - I'm not sure what the difference is there, but that's how it has been broken down.

Perhaps they should have popped into the area reserved for journalists; there was plenty of tea and biscuits on offer there - courtesy of Sky.

£116 was spent on "publications".

Still, protecting the three party leaders cannot be an easy job - and the money came from budgets allocated centrally, so at no extra cost to the local police.

With our forces all having to make savings over the next few years, presumably they will be hoping any future debates take place elsewhere - unlike us political hacks.