Ilford Recorder: 'Council wasting funds on PR'

A ROW over wasted council tax cash has boiled over amid claims that campaigners have got their sums wrong.

The TaxPayers' Alliance - a group that fights for lower rates - has issued a research document entitled Council Spending Uncovered.

This claims to reveal how much cash is pumped into the publicity machines at town halls across the country.

The group's findings indicate that Redbridge Council chiefs have more than doubled the amount spent over the past decade - from £1.108 million in 1996-1997 to £2.474 million in 2006-2007, the 53rd highest spend in the country.

But the claims prompted an angry response from Cllr Linda Huggett, the deputy leader and cabinet member for resources and communications, who insists the figure is about £500,000 less and below the regional average.

She said the majority of the cash is spent on statutory information the council is required to give the public, and staff recruitment costs.

She said: "Telling someone they can claim council tax benefit discounts is not publicity.

"The same goes for information on when old fridges can be picked up or how to report criminals who fly-tip. We need to tell people about these services and how they can access them."

The Monkhams ward councillor said costs are built up through extra demands from the government to produce plans and reports - as well as statutory notices, such as road closures, placed in local newspapers such as the Recorder.

She added: "We use the internet as much as possible to save money, and environmentally it is the right thing to do.

"We are expanding the use of Redbridge i as it allows us to provide people with the most up to date information 24 hours a day and is the most cost-efficient way of telling people about our services."

Statistics show that four out of 10 households still do not have access to the web - supporting the council's argument in favour of continuing to publish its Redbridge Life magazine.

But TaxPayers' Alliance campaign director Mark Wallace insists that the council still spends too much money on PR.

He said: "Taxpayers in Redbridge have suffered massive growth in council tax in the last decade, and yet services continue to struggle and the council still asks for more money.

"People are left wondering where the extra cash has gone.

"It is shocking that the council seems to think it is appropriate to spend so much on PR and glossy publicity when that money could be used to cut taxes or support services."