Minister blasts councils over lobbying 'waste'

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said he would launch new rules to stop a string of councils "wasting" money hiring

lobbying or public affairs consultants – and pointed the finger at 74 authorities he said were guilty.

North Yorkshire County Council admitted spending 22,000 on two firms, one of which helped push its bid to become a unitary authority – taking over services from district councils – several years ago.

Leeds City Council also revealed that nearly 20,000 had been spent on employing Connect Communications to organise events at party conferences and in Harrogate to promote the work of Leeds City Region, an alliance of local authorities in the region – but vehemently denied it was lobbying the Government.

But last night Mr Pickles was facing anger from other authorities after several councils insisted his list contained errors or outdated information. Hull City Council leader Carl Minns warned he might demand an apology from the Minister.

The Government's clampdown on lobbying comes as authorities are already beginning to feel the impact of budget cuts, but Mr Pickles said using private firms to lobby for changes to regulation or extra funding was not transparent.

"Local activism and localism don't need lobbyists," he said. "Councillors can campaign for change at a personal or party political level, rather than throwing away other people's council tax on the corrosive and wasteful practice of government lobbying government."

North Yorkshire County Council revealed that it had paid 22,000 to two consultancy companies, including 7.013 to the Public Affairs Company in 2004 "for help with a bid to promote regional government reform" when the council was seeking to become a unitary authority.

In 2007 it paid 15,944.75 to the PPS group for "help" with its waste strategy, although it did not reveal what form of help this included.

A spokesman said: "The county council does not pay for lobbying services as a general rule and these companies were employed as consultants for a relatively modest sum for two one-off high profile strategies."

Leeds City Council said it had used Connect Communications to "help organise conference and other events, particularly to publicise the work of the Leeds City Region, and to do research on our behalf on a number of key policy areas".

It added: "We do not use them as Parliamentary lobbyists, which is what the Minister is criticising," said a spokesman. "Just as he suggests, it is our politicians who lobby on the region's behalf, ensuring that our voice is heard."

Local Government Yorkshire and the Humber – which represents councils in the region – said it paid 2,235 to a company to run a training course in Wakefield informing staff about party policies in the run-up to the election.

But Coun Minns said there was no record of Hull City Council having paid any money to the company or paying for any lobbying and he urged Mr Pickles to "check his facts" before shaming authorities.

Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said it had not used The Public Affairs Company since 2005, and York City Council said it had not "commissioned any work from this company or any other lobbying organisations for at least four years"

What yorkshire authorities paid

North Yorkshire County Council: 22,000 for help with bid "to promote regional government reform" and develop waste strategy, dating back to 2004 and 2007;

Leeds City Council: "Nearly 20,000" to Connect Public Affairs to help organise events to promote Leeds City Region;

Local Government Yorkshire and the Humber: 2,235 for training from Connect Public Affairs about policies in the run-up to the General Election.