Council to bring judicial review action over DCLG direction on newspaper frequency

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is to bring judicial review proceedings after the Communities Secretary earlier this month served the authority with a direction requiring it to cut publication of its weekly newspaper.

Eric Pickles issued a notice under section 4a of the Local Government Act that required Greenwich to:

• commission or publish no more than four issues of Greenwich Time, or any equivalent newsletter, newssheet or similar communication, in the period of one year commencing 31 March 2015, and in subsequent years; and
• ensure that the executive of the council within 14 days of the date of the direction will take the necessary decisions in order that the council will be in a position to comply with the requirement on publication from 31 March 2015 onwards.

The DCLG said the direction meant Greenwich was “also barred from outsourcing or contracting for the publication of any weekly newsletter, newssheet or similar communication by a third party to whom the council may make payment”.

However, Greenwich’s Cabinet last week voted to challenge the direction, arguing that the move would increase costs to local council taxpayers and deprive local people from accessing information, jobs and housing opportunities.

In a statement, the council said: “The decision has been taken following legal advice that the council has a strong case for a judicial review of the decision, meaning if successful, the legal challenge would not cost a penny.

“Also a recent procurement exercise has proved that using an alternative to Greenwich Time would place a considerably higher financial burden on the borough at a time when budgets have been slashed due to cuts from central government.”

The local authority said it used Greenwich Time to place statutory notices and to tell residents about essential services, housing and jobs “because it offers by far the best value to residents”.

The council also claimed that:

• Placing its advertising (which the council is legally obliged to do) elsewhere would cost local taxpayers significantly more money – the equivalent of £2.31 for every household in the borough.
• The procurement exercise confirmed that the existing local newspapers would not deliver across the borough, “meaning not all residents would have equal access to important local information”.
• Greenwich Time featured important community stories from across the whole borough and was not aimed at one specific demographic, “helping to foster a sense of community”.

Cllr Denise Hyland, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “This is about local democracy and being able to allow all of our residents the same opportunity to access essential information about issues directly concerning them - so that everyone in the borough has the chance to take part in a dialogue on important local matters.

“Our decision is driven by how we can best serve our residents and save money on their behalf, at a time when our budgets are severely threatened by cuts. We are being told by Government to find whatever savings we can then it directs us to spend the equivalent of £2.31 more per household in the borough – making it even harder for us to keep freezing council tax and protect essential services.”

Cllr Hyland added: "The Government also wants us to place information and statutory notices in local newspapers that don’t deliver across the whole of the borough when Greenwich Time does, so we want to continue producing it weekly to tell every household in the borough about jobs and training opportunities, council housing as well as the statutory information like planning and highways decisions that everyone should have equal access to. We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t firmly believe we have a very strong case.”