Councils' communications teams have reached a 'plateau' on staff cuts, new research published today has suggested.

A survey by Panacea Applications Limited and LG Communications found one in ten councils are planning to reduce staff numbers in their communications teams this year.

This follows three years of 'fast and hard' cuts with 60% of councils saying they were cutting back their communications teams in 2014. The majority of councils also continued to cut staff numbers in 2015 and 2016.

The survey found that while 89% of communications teams say they are meeting their core objectives, 63% said cost cutting was making their job harder. More than half (56%) also said they expected their budget to be cut further this year.

Rachel Wynne, director of Panacea Applications Limited, said: 'Despite the staff cuts they have endured, we see no reduction in the work these teams are required to fulfil. Nonetheless, the latest results show that public sector communication teams are actually still motivated and providing a highly valued service to their organisations.

'With only 38% of respondents having sufficient time to fulfil their work, they are seeking new ways of becoming more efficient and harnessing new technology to reduce spend - with some showing true entrepreneurial spirit and even generating income for their organisations.'