By Richard Johnstone | 21 August 2014
Local government minister Kris Hopkins has today told seven councils to take action to ensure the publication of town hall newspapers complies with rules governing their frequency.
The authorities – Enfield, Hillingdon and Lambeth in London and Luton, Medway, Mid Devon and North Somerset councils – have been asked to explain how they will meet the government’s Publicity Code, which states council publications can be issued no more than quarterly.
The code is intended to prevent competition with local media, and also obliges authorities to be cost-effective and objective in any material they publish.
However, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the seven authorities publish newsletters either every month or two month.
Hopkins said the great majority of local authorities currently comply with the code.
However, it had been suggested that some councils might not be doing so.
‘Councils should now take steps to ensure publication in the future will be in line with the code’s provisions,’ he added.
Hopkins warned that if Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles considers there to be a risk of councils not meeting the code, he would be prepared begin the process of issuing a direction. Any council that does not follow such a direction could then end up facing a court order requiring compliance.
This is the second round of letters enforcing the code to be issued recently, following notices to sent to five London boroughs in April.
