WIRRAL Council has been warned again by the Government to abide by the law over its newspaper publishing activities ahead of an "extraordinary" meeting at the town hall.
A special summit of all 66 councillors has been called for next Monday when the legality and purpose of the monthly paper will be debated.
Wirral has been told the "publicity code" for all local authorities limits the frequency of such publications to just four per year.
But the ruling Labour group has said it intends to press ahead with twelve editions.
In August local government minister Marcus Jones wrote to the council warning they should not to break the rules, however the first edition of the paper is due to be printed next week.
Today a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "Spending on council newspapers undermines the independent free press.
“We have been clear we expect all councils to comply with the local government publicity rules.
“If they do not we will consider what further action to take.”
The paper, called "Wirral Today," will be distributed through more than 150,000 letterboxes and an extra 15,000 will be available for collection.
The administration says it is justified because a recent survey showed six-out-ten householders in the borough did not feel fully informed of the council's services.
Labour said it is the town hall's responsibility to ensure all residents and businesses are kept informed about services, job opportunities or other community announcements, "especially those residents and communities who rely on council services the most."
They claim all costs associated with their newspaper - in the region of £240,000 per year - will be found from existing budgets and will not require any additional resources.
The Conservative group, which requisitioned the extraordinary meeting, urged the ruling group "to abandon this expensive exercise in spin and control before any more hardworking council taxpayers' money or officer time is expended on this vanity project."
They add that a clash with the Government will prove costly in legal fees.
The DCLG says all local authorities should comply fully with the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity including not publishing any newsletter more frequently than quarterly.
The Secretary of State has the power to direct councils to abide by some, or all, of the code if he believes this is necessary.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel