LABOUR-RUN Luton Borough Council is defying an edict from the coalition government on how often it should publish its magazine, Lutonline.
A new draft code of conduct for local authorities says they should publish no more than four newsletters a year, apart from in extenuating circumstances.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “At a time when councils are facing up to really difficult choices, these excessive publicity machines seem completely out of kilter with public sentiment.
“Councils have got to ask themselves whether residents would prefer to see their council tax spent on front line services or on self-promotion? Propaganda dressed up as journalism not only wastes money but undermines a free press and a healthy democracy.”
A number of local authorities, including Central Bedfordshire, have stopped publishing their newsletters.
But at Luton’s executive meeting on Monday night (June 20), councillors voted to continue publishing 10 editions of Lutonline a year, on the grounds that Lutonline makes a small profit, and therefore helps the council’s “difficult financial situation”.
A report to the meeting read: “Lutonline is produced at a relatively low cost by officers within the council who have other roles.”
The magazine’s future will be reviewed again in February.