Cuts will come as even more of a shock if we can’t tell people about them

Cutting council communications at a time when people should be informed about the massive changes and cuts to services they receive is wrong.

I work in local government communications so am biased, both in the sense that I could lose my job but also in that I see the difference good council communications can have on people’s lives.

Good communication can make the difference to an old person who, without knowing about their council’s free heater scheme, would be freezing in the winter when their electric fire breaks down. It can also mean one less bored teenager if they know about their local free youth activities.

As well as this type of proactive work, I believe it’s only fair there are officers to deal with the mauling councils get in the press and as local government embraces new communications channels such as Twitter and Facebook, there needs to be staff to manage them.

On top of these tasks, we’re also going to have to guide both staff and council tax payers through the big changes happening in local government.

The team I work in is just about to undergo a restructure and our consultation ends tomorrow. The proposed restructure suggests cutting five posts and I’m accepting that this is broadly what will happen.

Our restructure doesn’t just cover public relations, which is what I do. It includes cutting our e-communications manager post and making significant changes to the roles that will be left.

I agree with most of the proposed changes, but whichever way you cut it, we’re going to have less people and yet we’re expected to up our game. So what does the future hold?

I understand that as with many teams in many types of organisation, local government communications need to constantly review the service they provide and change where necessary. I certainly don’t think communications should be saved at the expense of other staff such as social workers, housing advisors or council tax collectors.

But with fewer resources, are we still going to be able to run the campaign to recruit the social workers, produce the brochures explaining the complex system of social housing and update the website to tell you how to pay your council tax? And are we going to be able to effectively communicate the changes that these cuts will bring so people are prepared for the potentially massive upheaval ahead?

Time will tell.

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