Westminster Council comms head Alex Aiken slams audit plans

by Kate Magee , PR Week UK 28-Oct-09, 06:00

A respected council communications director has lashed out at government plans to count the number of press releases sent out by public sector bodies.

Westminster Council director of communications Alex Aiken said the controversial proposal 'could set public service comms back 20 years'.

The bodies responsible for auditing public authorities in the UK, including the Audit Commission and National Audit Office, are seeking to identify benchmarks for assessing government and council comms. One of the main indicators identified is the number of press releases issued. Aiken fumed: 'There is a stunning naivety in attempting to judge comms by this yardstick.