Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 1:11pm

Your right to read council notices

by From the Editors chair

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A topic being debated at Holyrood is of vital importance to the future of this newspaper.

The grandly titled Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee is hearing evidence about the proposal to let local councils withdraw public notices from local papers.

I have written to Cunninghame North SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson who is vice-convener of the committee to point out that not only are local authorities increasingly withdrawing information from local people but, in so doing, are depriving community papers of revenue.

You may not have noticed but councils stopped advertising their vacancies. If you are looking for a job with North Ayrshire or Inverclyde District Councils you have to gain access to the internet and trawl through their portals.

The result is that almost all local government jobs are being applied for by internal candidates or their relatives. Many others with the right skills and abillity are losing out.

It is also ironic that, at a time when governments want to crack down on alcohol abuse, councils were allowed to stop publishing the local Licensing Board applications. I know that these were well read notices and now people are not notified of licences in their area, and have to search the websites to find them.

If they get their way councils will not let you know about planning applications through the local paper. If you are lucky and adept enough you will have to track them down on a council portal.

You may have the internet at home and have the time to study (and you have to) North Ayrshire Council or Inverclyde website but let's not forget that thousands don't have access. Too many people are kept in the dark and that, of course, suits many council officials.

One of the most common enquiries we receive from readers is that about development plans. They point out that housing plans are being put through without proper consultation which, historically, includes advance notice in the local paper.

Oh, but we put them on our website is the standard comment by officials.

Local councils say they have to cut down on advertising to cut costs and there seem to be mixed messages from the Scottish Parliament depending upon which MSP you speak to. Fortunately, so far, enough Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dems at Holyrood have voted to stop the SNP proposal.

Local SNP Kenneth Gibson says it is all about giving councils the choice of where to put the public information. There would be no choice: every council would decide to withdraw from the local papers which they resent for scrutinising them in our role as public watchdog.

At a time when the newspaper industry has been hammered by the economic downturn loss of substantial, traditional revenue will be another nail in our coffin.

In my long experience in local newspapers we always have to be vigilant to challenge authorities of all kinds on decisions they make "on our behalf" when, most of the time, you didn't even know what they were proposing.