By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Gloucester City Council’s move to hire their own press relation officers has sparked concern among the opposition who believe it is not justified at a time of stretched public finances.
Gloucester City Council leaders decided to take their communications service in-house and be directly employed by the authority.
The council previously bought in the services from Gloucestershire County Council.
However, since the Liberal Democrats took over the administration at North Warehosue they have moved to employ press officers directly.
The move has seen the creation of three posts among which is a communications manager role with a pro rata salary of between £55,653 and £58,829 employed 30 hours a week.
Another role was created for a communications officer on a pro rata salary of £32,115 – £35,235 per annum working 22.50 hours a week.
And a full time one year fixed term position on a similar salary was created to work on local government reorganisation.
The job description said the role was tasked with “convincing” the public that proposals to create a Greater Gloucester council are the best for the city.
This is a proposal Council Leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kinghsolm and Wotton) is pushing, however, the council has yet to debate or vote on this plan for local government reorganisation unlike other Lib Dem authorities such as Cheltenham and Tewkesbury.
Conservative group leader Stephanie Chambers (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) said the Lib Dems in Gloucester were showing a “reckless disregard for taxpayers’ money”.
“They’ve scrapped the cost-effective shared communications service with the County Council, an arrangement the Conservatives put in place to keep costs low, and instead brought the service in-house at a rate which I calculate is costing at least £50,000 extra every year.
“This decision wasn’t in their manifesto. Nowhere did they tell residents they would increase council tax to fund more spin doctors.”
She believes they are hiring more communications officers to control messaging and promote their political agenda.
And Deputy Tory group leader Sajid Patel (C, Barton and Tredworth) feels Cllr Hilton is running the council as if it is his own personal empire.
And, while Labour group leader Terry Pullen (L, Moreland) said he supports the concept of a strong council providing good jobs for local people, he and his colleagues are concerned the Lib Dems are focusing on the wrong areas.
“They should be less concerned with back office functions and more concerned with improving frontline services,” he said.
“This is where we need more investment in services and in people.
“Only this week we’ve seen councillors refuse a £45 million investment in social housing in our city, while 5,000 families sit on their waiting list.
“This is where the Liberal Democrat administration should be spending their time and effort-improving frontline services like housing so that residents in our city feel safe and supported.
“At the moment there is too much focus from the Liberal Democrats on internal issues at the City Council and not enough focus on the people of Gloucester.”
And Community Independents group leader Alastair Chambers (Matson, Robinswood and White City) believes duplicating communication function is not a good use of public money at a time when council funds are stretched and services are being cut.
“There is no credible reason to create a separate media department, except a desire to control the message, spin the headlines, and push propaganda that serves the administration, not the people they were elected to represent,” he said.
Cllr Hilton defended the move saying the £116,000 budget agreed for communications is the same as what was previously spent on the services in 2024/25.
He said City Council communication team is now made up of a part time manager on 30 hours, a part time business advisor on 22.5 hours and general comms officer who is also part time on 22.5 hours a week.
This is equivalent to two full time posts – and they will have to cover the absence of others due to sickness or annual leave.
And the creation of the local government reorganisation comms officer is the result of the government white paper on devolution, he said.
“Total = three equivalent full time for the next 12 months – Needless to say this is one of the smallest comms teams run by a city council in England,” he said.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the idea to bring the services in house was something suggested by the managing director – which he agreed with.
Cllr Hilton also said the communications team felt there was a need for a role to focus on local government reorganisation as they would not be able to cope with the workload.
And he blasted the opposition for “disappointing, misleading, and in some cases, disgraceful” comments.
“It is entirely legitimate for a local authority to maintain a modern, responsive, and professional communications function,” he said.
“Gloucester’s in-house communications team is one of the smallest of any city council in the country, and the decision to restructure was made to ensure the council could better inform residents, respond to emergencies, and promote access to services.
“This decision was taken in line with professional advice and with full budget oversight. There has been no rise in council tax to fund the team, and no resources have been used for political ends.
“The team exists to support council services and all elected councillors, regardless of party. Strong, clear communications are not a luxury.
“They are essential in ensuring people know when their bins are being collected, how to access housing support, how to respond in a flood or heatwave, or how to take part in consultations. This is not political spin. It is public service.
“We will continue to focus on delivering services, supporting our communities, and improving how the council works on behalf of all Gloucester residents. Others may choose to shout from the sidelines. We choose to get on with the job.”