£500,000 and 180 metric tonnes of paper - the cost of the 'Westminster Reporter' (Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats)

Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats <info@westminsterlibdems.org.uk>

£500,000 and 180 metric tonnes of paper - the cost of the 'Westminster Reporter'

April 3, 2009 3:11 PM

2.25m copies printed since the last council elections have used up an estimated 180 metric tonnes of paper and cost almost £500,000 of taxpayers' money

The council's magazine, 'Westminster Reporter', has cost local taxpayers just short of £500,000 since the council was elected in May 2006, and consumed an estimated 180 metric tonnes of paper, according to information released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Local taxpayers have paid £353,000 to print the 18 editions of the magazine that have been produced since May 2006, and a further £236,000 to distribute them. Part of this cost has been met by £96,208 raised in advertising revenues, although the council itself features in the list of advertisers.

The precise total cost, after deducting the money raised from advertising, comes to £492,792.

In total, around 2.25 million copies of the magazine have been printed, and the total weight of paper used to produce them has been estimated at 180 metric tonnes.

Costs are on the rise too. Although the number of issues is set to drop from six to four per year, the print run will rise by 4,000 and the cost of both printing and distributing the magazines has risen steeply recently.

If current plans and costs remain the same, the local LibDems estimate that the magazine will cost over £900,000 and consume around 165 metric tonnes of paper if continued over the lifetime of the next four-year council, to be elected by local people in May 2010.

Commenting, Mark Blackburn, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the new Westminster North constituency said, "If elected next May, the Liberal Democrats will discontinue 'Westminster Reporter'. This would save the council an estimated £900,000 over four years. We calculate that to be worth around £2 off the average Council Tax bill.

"What is more, we'd not consume an estimated 165 metric tonnes of paper. A LibDem-run Westminster council would take the environment a lot more seriously than the current Conservatives."