Council leaders attack "draconian" revised publicity code
Town hall chiefs have attacked as “draconian” government rules restricting the number of times local authority newspapers can be published.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles put the revised Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity before Parliament last week. Under the code, councils will be unable to publish municipal newspapers more than four times a year. It also prevents the hiring of private sector lobbyists to lobby central government.
Pickles said: “An independent local press is an essential part of our open democracy and it is a vital part of local accountability, but the rules around council publicity have been too weak for too long squandering public funds and pushing local newspapers out into the abyss.
“Some councils have pushed this to the limits and were effectively lobbying on the rates. The changes will end the weekly Town Hall freesheets, stop professional lobbyists being hired and make advertising guidelines crystal clear so councils know exactly when misuse of public funds is a breach of the code.”
The Code has seven central principles under which publicity by local authorities should:
- be lawful
- be cost-effective
- be objective
- be even-handed
- be appropriate
- have regard to equality and diversity
- be issued with care during periods of heightened sensitivity.
The rules also define the appropriate use of publicity. The Department for Communities and Local Government said this means advertising should be “balanced, factually accurate and not likely to be perceived by the public as a political statement or a commentary on contentious areas of public policy".
The code says councils should not publish newspapers in direct competition with the local press. As well as a limit on the number of issues, there will be requirement that only material directly related to local services is included.
But Baroness Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "If the Department for Communities and Local Government was truly committed to localism it would not be introducing draconian rules dictating to councils how often they are allowed to share information with residents.
"It is extremely disappointing that ministers have failed to make any significant amendments to the code following consultation, and appear to have ignored the advice of their own MPs.”
Baroness Eaton claimed that newsletters delivered to people's homes had consistently proved to be the cheapest way for councils to directly communicate with residents and keep people informed about local services.
"The Communities and Local Government select committee found there was scant evidence of council publications competing unfairly with local newspapers,” she said.
The LGA chairman said the growth of the Internet had had a far greater impact on the local press than council newspapers, most of which are distributed between four and six times a year.
"It is extraordinary that government ministers have chosen to ignore this and take such a heavy-handed approach,” she added. “Not only are these rules completely unnecessary, but they have the potential to harm local democracy and drive up the amount of money councils will have to spend on advertising to fulfil their legal requirements.”
The code is subject to Parliamentary approval. The DCLG said it was intended that it would come into force following a debate in each of the Houses of Parliament.
A copy of the revised code can be downloaded here.
