Councillors in Stoke-on-Trent could be allowed to spend up £22,000 a year of taxpayers' cash on newsletters as part of a raft of communication changes.

All 44 elected members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council get an annual ward budget of £5,000 to spend on community projects, and since 2020 they have been barred from spending any of this money on leaflets to residents.

But now cabinet members have been asked to consider reversing this change following a review of communications between the city council, ward councillors and the public. According to a council report, newsletters funded from the ward budget could be used to inform residents of things happening in their neighbourhood, promote 'service activities and ward developments', or advertise events like luncheon clubs.

But opponents say it would effectively mean taxpayers' cash being spent on promoting individual councillors – at a time of swingeing council budget cuts. The idea is among several to come out of a review of councillor communications, carried out by members of the strategy and resources scrutiny committee.

Other proposals include the adoption of a 'ward member information charter', which would require the council to inform councillors of activities such as roadworks taking place in their area, and allowing councillors to use an existing blog system on the council website.

The committee's report says that newsletters funded through ward budgets would not be allowed to contain anything party political and would have to be approved by officers before being printed. And these newsletters would not be allowed in the purdah period before elections.

Cabinet members will decide which of the committee's recommendations to accept when they meet next week (Nub News).

The report suggests a spending cap of £500 on each councillor's newsletter – and if all 44 councillors spent the maximum amount it would equate to £22,000 a year. But it also mentions that councillors can currently use social media or email to communicate with residents for free.

Councillor Glen Watson, chair of the strategy and resources committee, says that both social media and newsletters can be effective tools.

He said: "I think both can have a role in terms of communications. Social media is now more useful as a means of communication than it's ever been, but I think there is still a place for physical literature, to make sure that you can reach people who are not on social media.

"But there's a question over where that literature comes from. For councillors who are members of political parties, their party might help with that. Or it could be council-funded. So I think there's a debate to be had over that."

But committee member Dan Jellyman, leader of the council's opposition Conservative group, says that ward budgets should not be used for councillors' 'personal promotion'. The recommendation comes as council leaders are proposing £8 million of budget cuts and a 4.99 per cent tax hike.

Mr Jellyman said: "At a time when the council is under significant financial pressure, it needs to make sure that every penny counts. The £5,000 ward budget that each councillor gets should be spent on community projects – it shouldn't be spent on councillor promotion.

"Political parties can spend their money on leaflets, it shouldn't be the taxpayer. This just seems to be about the Labour Party wanting the taxpayer to fund their leaflets."

The ward member information charter was suggested by officers after scrutiny committee members complained about 'a lack of information that flowed naturally to them about what was going on in their wards'. The proposed charter would include various categories of information, such as roadworks or fly-tipping, that would be supplied to relevant ward councillors as a matter of course.

Cllr Watson believes this could help keep councillors and residents better informed. He said: "You want to make residents aware of things like roadworks, but sometimes the first time you hear about them is when a resident tells you. It can be quite frustrating when you seem to be the last one to know these things."

Cabinet members will decide which of the committee's recommendations to accept when they meet on Tuesday.

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