Pickles threatens five councils over alleged breaches of publicity code
The Communities Secretary has threatened five London councils with legal directions over alleged breaches of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.
The five councils ordered to comply with the code by 1 May – and the nature of the non-compliance alleged by the Department for Communities and Local Government – were:
- The Royal Borough of Greenwich: “not objective, not even-handed, ‘Greenwich Time’ is published 50 times a year”;
- Hackney Council: “Hackney Today is published fortnightly”;
- Tower Hamlets Council: “Not objective, not even-handed, ‘East End Life’ is published weekly”;
- Newham Council: “Not even-handed, the ‘Newham mag’ is published fortnightly”;
- Waltham Forest Council: “Not even-handed, ‘Waltham Forest News’ is published fortnightly”.
Eric Pickles said: “Localism needs robust and independent scrutiny by the press and public, and municipal state-produced newspapers suppress that. ‘Town Hall Pravdas’ not only waste taxpayers’ money unnecessarily, they undermine free speech.
“I have given written notice to councils most clearly breaching the Publicity Code, noting that Parliament has passed new laws to tackle this abuse. We are prepared to take further action against any council that undermines local democracy - whatever the political colour.”
He added: “We have changed the law to protect the free speech of councillors. If councillors and political parties want to campaign and put out political literature, they are very welcome to do so, and it’s an important part of our democratic process. But they should be using their own money, rather than taxpayers.”
In response to the Communities Secretary’s move, Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “We believe that residents should decide how often and in which ways their councils communicate with them. Local newspapers have a key role to play in strengthening local democracy. However, we’ve not been shown evidence council publications compete unfairly with the local press.
“The reality is that local newspaper circulations are on the decline and are not always the best way of reaching residents with key information. Council magazines have proved to be the cheapest and most effective way for them to tell people about local services, events and issues. Councils should be free to make decisions based on what works for their communities and on feedback from their residents who, if are unhappy, can make their feelings known locally.”
Cllr Fleming also claimed that councils subsidised the local newspaper industry to the tune of £40m a year by being legally required to pay to publish statutory notices, “despite them often only being seen by a small proportion of residents”.
He said the LGA wanted the Government “to reform the outdated regulations which require councils to spend taxpayers’ money on expensive adverts in local newspapers”.
The Publicity Code, which applies to local authorities in England, sets out seven principles that publicity by local authorities should follow. These are that it should be:
- be lawful;
- be cost effective;
- be objective;
- be even-handed;
- be appropriate;
- have regard to equality and diversity; and
- be issued with care during periods of heightened sensitivity.
Notices of intention to serve directions under s. 4A of the Local Government Act 1986 were sent to the five councils last week and followed the coming into force of a key part of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
The notices give the authorities 14 days in which to make written representations.
After that 14-day period has elapsed, the Communities Secretary may then issue a direction. If the direction is not complied with, a person having appropriate interest (such as a council taxpayer, elector, or a councillor of the authority concerned, or the Secretary of State), may seek a court order requiring compliance with the direction. Non-compliance with a court order may be contempt of court.
