Pickles takes aim at "town hall Pravdas", confirms end of CAA

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is planning to clamp down on council-run newspapers, according to the BBC.

Eric Pickles said he wants to stop “town hall Pravdas” that compete with independent local newspapers. The government will consult on changes to the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.

He added: “The previous government’s weakening of the rules on town hall publicity not only wasted taxpayers’ money and added to the wave of junk mail, but has undermined a free press.

“Councils should spend less time and money on weekly town hall Pravdas that end up in the bin, and focus more on frontline services like providing regular rubbish collections.”

The Secretary of State added that commercial newspapers could expect less state advertising over time as more information is syndicated online for free. “The flipside is our free press should not face state competition from propaganda on the rates dressed up as local reporting,” he added.

The Local Government Association told the BBC that most council newspapers only come out a few times a year and are not serious competitors for advertising revenue.

Eric Pickles also wrote to council leaders last week to confirm that he has instructed the Audit Commission and five other local inspectorates to stop Comprehensive Area Assessments.

Ministers claim the move will save the Audit Commission £10m, with local authorities also benefiting financially from lighter inspection.

The Secretary of State said: “In the face of the nation’s £156bn deficit, central government needs to stop the costly top-down monitoring that is engulfing councils and start trusting them to do what is right locally. I have instructed town hall watchdogs to stop tying the hands of council workers with unnecessary red tape and paperwork.”