County magazine '˜waste of money'

WEST Sussex County Council has been accused by Liberal Democrat members of wasting taxpayers' money on its '˜glossy' Connections magazine, which is distributed to households throughout the county.

The criticism follows a series of measures announced by communities secretary Eric Pickles to crack down on town hall papers, which he said had left many local newspapers ‘looking over the abyss’. West Sussex Lib Dems said the ‘welcome crackdown’ on the publication of free papers and magazines such as Connections which threatened the viability of the independent local press was an issue highlighted in a recent motion to the county council by Cllr Bob Smytherman.

Cllr James Walsh, deputy leader of the county council’s Lib Dem group, said: “The rules around council publicity have been too weak for too long allowing public money to be spent on frivolous County Hall propaganda that has left many local newspapers looking over the abyss and weakening our free press - or to use ‘hired-gun’ lobbyists that operate in the shadows to bulldoze special interests through.”

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The coalition proposals would close off these inappropriate practices and make sure councils focused tax payers’ money on where it should be spent - protecting frontline services.

“Therefore I hope the West Sussex Tories will reconsider their position and look to end the money wasted on the glossy Connections magazine,” he added.

But a joint statement by the council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Louise Goldsmith, and Cllr Brad Watson, the cabinet member for communities, said the Government was directing its attention at council publications in direct competition with local newspapers - and this had never been the case in West Sussex.

“The proposal is that there is a new rule that councils should not publish newspapers in direct competition to local press, and that these council publications should not appear more than quarterly, and should only include material directly related to council services - West Sussex Connections fully meets that criteria,” the statement declared.

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“It is generally accepted that councils have a duty to communicate with residents and account for how their money is being spent.

Connections is a very cost-effective way of keeping all our customers informed about council plans and how to access services and benefits because it is delivered to all homes in the county. All four copies delivered annually per household costs less than a second class stamp.

“The content is approved by an all-party editorial panel that includes a Lib Dem representative. As a responsible county council we are very busy preparing for the comprehensive spending review and we will be looking very carefully at all that we do.”