Birmingham City Council spends £275,000 on external PR
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that Birmingham City Council has spent just over £275,000 on external public relations agencies since 2007.
The money was spent despite the council having an internal press office manned by ten full-time staff, headed up by Canadian Debra Davis who joined in 2006.
MP Khalid Mahmood (Lab, Perry Barr,) said he was appalled that any money had been spent on external PR agencies. “This is completely outrageous,” he said.
“Why they need to spend any money on other people doing their own jobs for them is beyond me, but you come to expect this sort of thing from Birmingham City Council.
“It is especially disappointing, seeing that they have asked individual constituencies such as mine to make efficiency savings and cuts as a result of the economic downturn and then they go and waste money on pointless public relations exercises.
“I do not see anything that they have achieved by doing this sort of thing and, in the meantime, the council’s children’s services are in turmoil and people can’t get into work because they can’t even grit the roads properly. Perhaps they should be tightening their own belts before they ask others to do the same?”
The council says the money was spent on projects such as Birmingham Library and Brilliantly Birmingham, which showcased the work of designer jewellery-makers. The agencies were employed from across the country.
Last week, the council was criticised for spending £67 million on outside consultants and last year, one of its projects was held up to ridicule when a picture of Birmingham, Alabama was mistakenly used to promote the city on a leaflet.
A council spin doctor then defended the image as a “generic urban skyline picture” which was designed to symbolically represent the area.
Fiona McEvoy, from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Birmingham taxpayers already pay out a huge amount of money for the many spin doctors and press officers the council have on payroll, so it’s shocking that they have to foot this substantial bill as well.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: “On a project-by-project basis the council will, on occasion, supplement its communications capabilities by contracting external suppliers with specialisms not present in-house.
“This is only done when it is deemed that the contractor will add tangible benefits to the project and this can be achieved in a cost-effective manner.
“Contracts are only awarded following a rigorous procurement process and suppliers’ work is subject to ongoing review against key performance targets.
“A two-year expenditure of £275,000 for an organisation with an annual budget of over £3 billion is well below industry norms.”
