The Local Government Association has slammed claims that council taxpayers’ money is being wasted on publicity.
This follows revelations from the Taxpayers’ Alliance that spending on PR by councils has doubled in the past decade to £450m a year.
Findings from the pressure group revealed the average local authority spends almost £1m, but some councils spend a great deal more, with Birmingham City Council spending £10m on publicity in 2006-07.
An LGA spokesman said councils had a ‘duty’ to let people know what services they get for their tax. ‘People would be furious if they had no idea of what services their cash was paying for and how they could get to use them,’ he said.
‘It is absolutely vital residents are told how to access services.’
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said its £10m spend was justified because it was the ‘largest local authority in Europe’.
‘With a population of over one million people, Birmingham is significantly larger than all other authorities on the Taxpayer’s Alliance list, and is actually spending less per head on publicity, including recruitment advertising, than most of the other listed councils.’
