COUNCILS have often been taken to task for not communicating properly with the people they serve.

In recent years local authority publicity departments have been expanded to counter such criticism and large sums of money spent on staffing them.

It is important that full details of changes in policy are relayed to those who are likely to be affected by them. Voters also need to be informed of how their money is being spent.

But in a world where you can find people who claim to be consultants in almost every field imaginable it does seem that Lancashire County Council might perhaps be going too far in employing 'reputation management consultants' to launch decriminalised parking in the county.

An extra £100,000 a year has already been spent expanding the council's publicity department but the consultants are to get £16,000 to let people know what is happening as responsibility for parking enforcement passes from police to local authorities in September.

One of their first tasks apparently will be to send out letters explaining that decriminalised parking should not be referred to as such in future but be called "ParkWise."

It seems strange that such work cannot be carried out within the large authority without spending public money outside.