TPA Press Release, Council Spending Uncovered #1: Publicity

COUNCIL SPENDING UNCOVERED NO.1: PUBLICITY

* NEW SERIES TO REVEAL HOW COUNCILS REALLY SPEND THEIR MONEY
* AVERAGE PUBLICITY SPENDING DOUBLED TO £1 MILLION SINCE 1997

* TOTAL TOWN HALL PUBLICITY BILL £450 MILLION A YEAR

With council tax bills having doubled over the last ten years, the TaxPayers' Alliance has launched a new series to review expenditure by local authorities in all corners of the UK and highlight areas of spending that could and should be reduced.

The Council Spending Uncovered series challenges the claim that Town Halls are short of money by publishing figures that will allow council taxpayers to decide for themselves whether their local authority is spending their money wisely. These figures have never previously been compiled in one place because the TPA is the first non-government body to have collected the accounts for all 450-plus councils.

The first paper in the Council Spending Uncovered series examines the increase in town hall spending on publicity over the last decade, which is itemised in the annual accounts of all councils.

Key findings

• The average local authority spends almost £1 million (£985,000) on publicity.
• The average local authority is spending double the amount on publicity than it did in 1996-97:
  • Without taking account of inflation the average local authority spent £430,000 on publicity ten years ago. The average spend today is a 130 per cent increase on that 1996-97 figure.
  • In today's prices the average local authority spent £550,000 on publicity in 1996-97. The average spend today is an 80 per cent increase in real terms on a decade ago.
• The total local authority publicity bill is £450 million.
• There is one local authority, Birmingham City Council, that spends more than £10 million on publicity.
• There are 8 local authorities spending more than £5 million on publicity.
• There are 73 local authorities spending more than £2 million on publicity.
• There are 141 local authorities spending more than £1 million on publicity.
• The total spend on publicity is not broken down in a uniform way in the various local authority accounts. It is possible, however, to identify 44 councils that spend at least £1 million and 4 councils spending at least £2 million on staff recruitment advertising - despite the increased use of websites. If all local authority accounts provided a full breakdown of publicity spending, the number of councils spending at least £1 million on staff advertising would almost certainly increase.
• The doubling of average publicity spending per local authority in the last decade is extremely disappointing. There are, however, a number of councils that are actually spending less on publicity than ten years ago. For example:
  • Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council spent £669,000 on publicity in 2006-07, down 11 per cent from the £751,000 spent in 1996-97.
  • In 2005-06, however, the council spent £1,030,000 on publicity, meaning that the 1-year fall in spending was 35 per cent.
  • If Hammersmith and Fulham can reduce publicity spending by 35 per cent in one year (in part by allowing advertising by local businesses in council publications) make other efficiency savings and reduce council tax by 3 per cent, then it must be possible for other councils to follow suit.

Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

"It's important for council taxpayers to see just how their hard-earned money is being spent by town halls. With council tax doubling in the past decade, it's extremely disappointing that councils have chosen to double their publicity budgets over the same period. With the internet cutting the cost of communication, it shouldn't be difficult for local authorities to find savings in this area and bring council tax down."

To discuss the research, please contact:

Corin Taylor, Research Director, on 07866 141110 or 0845 330 9554 (corin.taylor@taxpayersalliance.com)

Matthew Sinclair, Policy Analyst, on 07771 990174 or 0845 330 9554 (matthew.sinclair@taxpayersalliance.com)

Anyone from the Three Rivers area (Rickmansworth and Watford) who wants to get involved with the TPA, please email tpa@michaeldavidrock.com

TPA Rickmansworth

I've just become the Rickmansworth organiser for the TPA. this was my pitch:

As a UK taxpayer, I only have to look at my own net pay, my council tax, my petrol bills, my road-tax to see how totally out of hand the tax take of this government has become. The stark reality that strikes me is those who govern us have no idea just how much of a negative impact a decade of tax increases have had. The burden on the ordinary taxpayer has reached a level that is unsustainable, damaging to the economy and should now act as a galvanising point of reference for those who do not believe in big government but in the freedom and the liberty of the individual.

A low-tax economy has consistently proved to be the best way of increasing tax revenues, stimulating the economy and increasing wealth. Without a commitment to reducing taxes, we will lose our international competitiveness, our position as a leading nation for banking and financial services and an attractive proposition for foreign investors and business.

That any UK Government hasn't learnt from the reforms of the Eighties is a strong indictment of the blinkered, ignorant dogma certain sections of our political classes subscribe to. However, the TPA transcend party politics and the message they deliver is not only for people involved with politics directly: tax affects us all, whether it be direct or indirect taxation, and higher tax means lower personal wealth, particularly for those on the lower rungs of the ladder.

Everyday millions of pounds our money is frittered away on meaningless jobs, pointless arbitrary targets and negligent inefficiency. The one message I personally like to reiterate at every given opportunity is a simple one and I think we need to make that message heard: there is no such thing as Government money, just our earnings, taken by edict.

The email for the campaign is tpa@michaeldavidrock.com. If you're not in my area but want to join the campaign for lower taxes, please go here, it's free to join!