Many Welsh councils are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on political ‘bumpf’ – according to a Freedom of Information Request by the Welsh Conservatives.

Shadow Local Government Secretary, Janet Finch-Saunders, called for councils to instead “focus their resources on providing regular bin collections” and other frontline services.

According to the FOI, Welsh councils have spent more than £1.6m on council bulletins and newsletters since 2013/14.

The biggest spenders were Swansea (£266,399) and Caerphilly (£234,494), with Cardiff, Merthyr, Newport, Torfaen and Conwy also spending over £100,000.

In contrast, Conservative-run Monmouthshire council has scrapped such bulletins, and others have followed suit [see table in notes to editors].

Mrs Finch-Saunders called on councils to follow the lead of local authorities like Monmouthshire in scrapping costly political propaganda, and instead embrace technology to communicate with constituents.

She said:

“Substantial sums are being spent by many Welsh councils on town hall propaganda, and taxpayers will rightly question why their hard earned cash is being spent on junk mail at a time when many frontline services are being cut.

“Instead, councils should focus their resources on providing regular bin collections and on maintaining the standard of local roads.

“We would urge Welsh councils to follow the lead of authorities like Monmouthshire, who have scrapped costly newsletters – and instead take advantage of the technology at their disposal to communicate with their constituents for free.

“Some do, and there is good practice to celebrate in some areas.

“However, it is deeply concerning to see such a spread throughout Wales – with some councils, such as Swansea and Caerphilly, still spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on political bumpf.”