6 Conclusions
77. We are satisfied that there is merit in producing
a new code of practice on local authority publications. However,
some of the changes proposed in the revised Code of Recommended
Practice on Local Authority Publicity are insufficiently supported
by the evidence, and this has resulted in the production of a
code which is inconsistent with the Government's declared commitment
to localism. Its effect would be to deprive local authorities
of the freedom to decide for themselves how to employ cost-effective
publicity within a coherent communications strategy to inform
residents about services and to engage stakeholders in challenging
decision making.
78. The Newspaper Society appears to have persuaded
the Secretary of State that a small number of local authority
'Pravdas' competing with a local commercial newspaper for advertising
heralds some kind of seismic shift that poses a significant threat
to the commercial survival of their industry. As this inquiry
has found, solid evidence about the scale of this impact in support
of this assertion remains scant and offers insufficient justification
for the constraints on local authorities proposed in the replacement
code. Nonetheless, there is concern that if no action is taken
then other local authorities will follow the lead taken by the
relatively few councils which currently publish frequent newspapers.
79. Council newssheets are not the most significant
cause of the decline in the local independent press and do not
represent the sort of threat to free speech implied by the use
of terms such as "local authority Pravdas". We accept
that, as our colleagues on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
found in their inquiry of last Session, there has been some abuse
by a small number of local authorities producing publications
which effectively pose as, and compete with, local commercial
newspapers. The provisions of the proposed Code which seek to
regulate the content and appearance of such publications will,
if strictly enforced, in our judgement be adequate to address
these isolated examples.
80. If the Secretary of State
continues to believe that publication of any local authority newssheet
more frequently than quarterly poses a significant threat to the
local press, a much stronger evidence base is required to justify
the inclusion of any such restriction in the proposed Code. Although
the evidence suggests that a quarterly, or less frequent, publication
will usually be sufficient to meet a local authority's need to
communicate with residents, we doubt that it is necessary to specify
a maximum frequency of publication within the Code. Before setting
any replacement for the existing codes before Parliament, we recommend
that the Secretary of State follow through a recommendation made
by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the last Parliament.
That is, that he commission an independent review to assess competition
in the local media market and quantify the impact of council publications
on commercial entities operating in their locale.
[89]
81. When a new Code is in place it will be important
to monitor its effectiveness in stamping out the worst excesses
of "propaganda on the rates" . We recognise that it
is important to evaluate over time whether the provisions in the
code relating to content and appearance will prove sufficient
to stem the creeping increase in the appearance of weekly or fortnightly
'Pravdas'. It remains open to Ministers to bring forward a revision
to the code at a future date if the problem escalates and/or stronger
quantified evidence suggests the issues of local competition are
intensifying.
82. In the meantime, elected representatives
or any commercial newspaper concerned about a local authority
'Pravda' should pursue a more assertive enforcement strategy,
employing methods available under the current codes, if they believe
it essential to rein back the activities of any council currently
publishing publicity material of a kind they believe may fall
outside the requirements of the existing codes.
83. At the same time, the local newspaper industry
should be encouraged to continue to strengthen their local presence,
to improve what they offer local communities through their independent
scrutiny and reporting of local government.
Lobbyists
84. We agree with the Minister that hiring lobbyists
in order to contact Ministers is not an appropriate use of council
funds. We believe however that if hiring a lobbyist is as ineffective
as the Minister claims, then local authorities will soon learn
that lesson for themselves and stop doing so.
85. We are not persuaded that a code of practice
on publicity is the right place in which to address this issue.
There is also scope for damaging confusion about what does and
does not constitute a "lobbyist" under the Code. To
prevent the excesses described by the Minister whilst allowing
sufficient freedom to local authorities to hire in relevant specialist
expertise when necessary, we suggest a better approach would entail
work by the Government with representative organisations for all
tiers of local government, with UKPAC and with the Chartered Institute
of Public Relations Local Public Services Group to develop a new
code of practice to more tightly govern the use of lobbyists by
councils.
89 HC (2009-10) 43, para 75. Back
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