Councils defends print spending

Altrincham and Cheshire local authorities have defended their expenditure on printed promotional material, saying the costs are far offset by the benefits to local firms and the efficacy of the medium in getting its message across.

Residents in areas including Altrincham have slammed their council for unnecessarily spending money on letters, leaflets and posters.

A recent newspaper report criticising local authorities for wasted budgetary allocations revealed that Chester council had shelled out more than £2,000 on poster printing and a prize draw.

Mailshots from the council containing communication regarding a budget consultation included posters that advertised a prize draw offering council tax waiver for a year to residents who responded.

Defending the move, local officials said the prize draw promotion had helped increase responses by a third, showing that printed material works well as a marketing tool.

They said the council's investment in printed material was also helping local firms that provide printing services.

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