By Gavin Mackintosh-
Three local governments ministers have defied warnings by the Local government to cease publication of council free sheet newspapers more than four times a year.
Local government minister Marcus Jones has issued a final warning to three authorities to cease the publication of council freesheet newspapers more than four times a year or he will need to intervene to limit them.
Local government minister, Marcus Jones, has issued a final warning to three authorities – Hackney, Newham and Waltham Forest – to stop publishing council newspapers on a fortnightly basis .
The Department for Communities and Local Government set out rules in a publicity code intended to limit publication to quarterly.
Jones yesterday announced government plans to give local newspapers a £1,500 business rates discount, adding that it could make a real difference to their overall running costs.
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Councils, he said, shouldn’t undermine local democracy by publishing their own newsletters more often than quarterly. ”I’m offering the small number that aren’t playing by the rules this last chance to put their publishing houses in order or I will use my powers to require them to do so.”
Luton Borough Council and Tower Hamlets are the latest council to comply with the rules in light of the intervention of the government-appointed commissioners. Hackney Council claim the imposition from DGLG is unreasonable and will incur higher costs for them of they comply with their rules.
However, DCLG said communities secretary Sajid Javid has the power to issue a direction requiring the defiant authorities to comply with some, or all, of the publicity code.
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Jones has written direction letters to the authorities in question, setting out proposed direction on the publicity code. The three councils have 14 days to make any further representations to the secretary of state. Waltham Forest Council disappointedly had nobody in their press section to attend to us when we called this morning, but insiders told the eye of media.com that the Council will respond to their letter within 15 days.
A Hackney Council spokesperson told the eye of media.com: “The Council has written to DCLG on a number of occasions over the last six years to explain Hackney’s position, as well as meeting with officials. We have previously said that we will voluntarily reduce the frequency of publication of Hackney Today, when DCLG lift their out-dated requirement to publish statutory notices in a printed fortnightly publication.
Until this happens, reducing frequency would increase our advertising costs, while reducing the number of residents we can reach and damaging the access to information of our most vulnerable residents.” The Mayor of Hackney has written an open letter to DGLG in defence of the council’s right to continue to print their publications, but for some strange reason the dispute has not disappea
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