Welsh councils should cut ‘propaganda spend’

Following a freedom of information request by the Welsh Conservatives, councils in Wales have been urged to cut their spend on ‘propaganda’.

The figures showed that more than £1.6 million had been spent over the last three years by Welsh councils on ‘junk mail’, such as bulletins and newsletters.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Janet Finch-Saunders has said that councils should instead ‘focus their resources on providing regular bin collections and on maintaining the standard of local roads’.

The research showed that Cardiff, Merthyr, Newport, Torfaen and Conwy spent over £100,000 since 2013/14, while Swansea spent £266,399 and Caerphilly £234,494.

Conversely, Monmouthshire Council spent nothing on bulletins and newsletters in this period, and received the praise of Finch-Saunders.

She said: “Substantial sums are being spent by many Welsh councils on town hall propaganda, and taxpayers will rightly question why their hard earned cash is being spent on junk mail at a time when many frontline services are being cut.

“Instead, councils should focus their resources on providing regular bin collections and on maintaining the standard of local roads. We would urge Welsh councils to follow the lead of authorities like Monmouthshire, who have scrapped costly newsletters – and instead take advantage of the technology at their disposal to communicate with their constituents for free.”