Public relations is a local issue

The CLG recently launched a draft revised code on council publicity, including limiting the number of council publications. David Holdstock, chair of LG Communications, the body for council public relations heads, gives his reaction With every council leader, chief executive and leadership team in the country awaiting the outcome of the impending Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), the one thing we do know is that local government is facing some of the greatest challenges for at least a decade These will, of course, be focused around delivering services with less money, less people and almost certainly, a changed responsibility, passing some of the delivery to the voluntary sector, community groups and even individual residents. This new model will devolve power and responsibility to local communities, giving citizens more say and involvement in the way their local area is run. This can only be a good thing, but there is a huge job of work to do for councils and their public sector partners to explain the coming changes to the public. In this period of austerity, when public services will be reducing, there is a growing expectation on councils, with some citizens believing their council even delivers services such as dentistry and policing. This shows that we have some way to go to manage public expectations in the face of tightening budgets. In the coming months, effective, direct communication is going to be a key driver of council reputation, and critical to ensuring residents are well informed about their local public services. However, the proposed CLG code on local authority publicity could make that task more difficult. To ensure we can have those effective conversations and, as part of the Big Society agenda, it is vital that citizens have access to information at the most local levels. Research shows that the more informed people are, the more likely they are to engage with the democratic process. Taking this one step further, citizens who feel they contribute to local decisions are more likely to be satisfied with the service they receive from local public services. Councils have a vital and leading role to play in ensuring citizens are well informed about services in their local area, and this will be even more important as they take on new responsibilities, such as public health. The best councils are communicating in innovative, cost-effective ways, and many have seen increases in the numbers of residents who feel involved and informed. At the same time, councils have delivered reductions in the amount they spend on communications. The proposed new code includes a range of measures, including guidance on content and limiting the number of council magazines or newspapers to four a year. It is clearly not the role of councils to publish TV listings, film reviews and the like, and this is helpful in terms of offering clarity so that councils focus on their core business. A healthy, strong and independent local newspaper industry is good for local democracy, and robust challenge of council policies, performance, activity and behaviour is essential. Our research indicates that since the majority of the country receives a council magazine or newspaper no more than once every two months, the publications have no impact on their local media, and many are proven to be the most cost-effective way to communicate with residents. This is an important point, as the review is aimed at a minority of, largely, London-based council newspapers, perhaps six in total, out of almost 350 local authorities producing regular publications. Local newspapers are commercial operations but they are failing to develop to meet the changing economic and social needs of the communities we all serve. Instead, newspaper groups have consolidated staff, premises and even titles, which often means that journalists are far removed from the communities on which they report. As a consequence, citizens often feel that the ‘news' carried in local newspapers no longer has relevance or resonance. However, councils will still have to publish public notices in local newspapers at a cost of many millions of pounds to the taxpayer. This will, in effect, take money away from direct communication with residents and instead, use it to help prop up local newspapers. The lack of local media reporting of council news and information, and tighter limits on how councils can communicate will inevitably lead to residents who are less well informed. This could also damage the progress made in how satisfied they are with the place they live, and their engagement with civic society as a whole. Public services need to be more efficient and deliver better value for money for their residents, but the way in which we reach our destination should be a matter for councils, guided by their local citizens. Councils should be free to communicate and advertise as they choose, as long as they can prove it is effective and offers value for money. Localism should be about what works for local residents. David Holdstock is head of corporate communications at Hillingdon LBC and national chair, LG Communications

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WHITEHALL

Public relations is a local issue

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