Councils launch ad campaign to repair image problem

LGA press release - 30 June 2008

An information campaign to tell people about everything their council does for them is to be launched this week, in a bid to boost the reputation of town halls.

The ‘My Council’ campaign, to be launched this week by the Local Government Association at its Annual Conference in Bournemouth, will encourage councils, through a series of posters, to tell people about the vast range of services that their council tax pays for.

The posters include a drunk woman vomiting on the street, a close-up of a dog fouling in a park, alongside captions of how councils deal with binge drinking and keep the streets and parks clean.

Research shows that local government has much to do to improve its reputation and councils know that overall satisfaction rates need to be improved. However, independent audit watchdogs show that councils are performing better and more efficiently than ever before and that people generally like the services that their council provides.
 
In addition, new research to be published this week show that many people remain largely unaware of the services that councils provide:

•  More than three in five people didn’t realise their council provided dog wardens, swimming lessons or promoted tourism
•  Under half of people questioned realised that councils kept food in restaurants safe
•  84% say they think councils should tell them about the services their councils provide
•  Around three in five people incorrectly believe that their council was responsible for the police service and over half believed they were responsible for the hospitals

The campaign will try to demonstrate to residents the vast range of services that councils provide, how they get value for money for their council tax and how they can access council services.

Sir Simon Milton, Chairman of the LGA, said: “Most people have a story about uncollected bins or a wrangle over a parking ticket that dominates their opinion of what they think of their local authority.

“There is a huge discrepancy between what people think of their council and their opinion of the services that council provides. When you ask people what they think of their leisure centres or parks the responses are overwhelmingly positive and yet people are resoundingly negative about the organisation that provides these services. Councillors have been left asking themselves why many of them have an unmerited reputation.

“The real problem is that people don’t link back the services they get to their local council and question whether they get value for money for their council tax.

“All the independent research shows that councils are providing people with excellent value for money. Government figures show that councils are the most efficient part of the public sector, making efficiency savings of around £1bn every year and the Audit Commission recently said that councils are performing better than ever before.

“Most people just think that the council collects the bins and they haven’t the faintest clue of the vast range of services that town halls provide. From archaeology to zoology, from cradle to grave, councils provide over 800 services to improve people’s lives and help them get safe and sound through the day.

“The posters are designed to get people to appreciate that their town hall does a massive amount with council taxpayers’ money. The council makes sure you don’t get food poisoning when you go to a fancy restaurant, that your ears don’t go septic when you get them pierced, that there isn’t vomit on the streets after drunken high jinx at the weekend.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Copies of posters available on request
2. Government data shows that seven out of ten people are happy with parks, three out of five are happy with keeping land clear of litter, four out of five people are happy with councils emptying the bins, four out of five are happy with waste disposal. The Audit Commission earlier this year reported that councils are performing better than ever, with four out of five councils in getting three or four stars (the top two categories) and three out of four councils improving strongly.
3. The LGA commissioned TNS to conduct a survey with adults throughout England. A sample of 1,757 adults were interviewed between 13 to 17 June.

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: Tel: 0207 664 3333