Brent Council spends £2million on publicity

Brent Council spent more than £2million of tax payers' money on publicity last year - double the national average.

The figures, released by the TaxPayers' Alliance, have raised fresh fears that the local authority is wasting cash on "spin" despite year-on-year tax hikes.

Town hall chiefs laid out a total of £2,180,000 on publicity in 2007/08 - an increase of 68 per cent on the previous year.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, slammed their actions.
He said: "It is incredibly disappointing that, despite the economic downturn and the loss of millions in Iceland Banks, local authorities are still spending nearly half a billion pounds a year on publicity."

Mr Elliott commended the 218 councils who had cut spending on advertising, but said Brent, who were among 224 councils who had ramped up spending, should hang their heads in shame.

"In the middle of a recession, councils need to cut back on propaganda and spin doctors and deliver savings to taxpayers."

Since 1996 Brent has increased the amount spent on publicity by 220 per cent. It was ranked 64 out of more than 450 councils in the total amount of cash forked out.

Councillor Anne John, leader of the Brent Labour Party, said the rise in the past two years was totally unjustifiable.

Defending its actions, the council said the money was not spent on "spin", but rather on informing members of the public about the services it offers.

A council spokeswoman said: "Brent is spending more than 900 million a year providing services for residents. But how would our residents know what time the local pool is open, what benefits they are entitled to or where to go and vote if we don't provide information letting them know?

"None of the money is spent on spin doctors or propaganda and often spending a small amount on publicity will save tax payers money in the long run."

The spokeswoman said a third of the money is spent on schools publicity and another third went on advertising council jobs.

The highest spending local authority was Birmingham City Council which splashed out more than £9million on publicity.

But West Somorset spent a measly £4,000. The average spend was £965,986.