Right-to-Buy 'propaganda' bill: £660,000

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Central Government

The Government has spent a total of £660,000 promoting its Right-to-Buy scheme, which has been called a "total waste of taxpayers' money" on "propaganda".

The new housing minister, Mark Prisk, revealed the figures in a reply to a House of Commons question from Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Simon Hughes.

Mr Hughes asked how much the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had spent on direct marketing and print and broadcast adverts for the scheme since November 2011.

Mr Prisk replied that the department had spent £198,000 on direct marketing, and £460,332 on print adverts. He said that there had been no broadcast advertising for the scheme.

The spending has been called "a waste of money" by Islington councillor Terry Stacy. The Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesman on the LGA said: "What a total waste of taxpayers' money. We are now seeing the DCLG spending around £660,000 on Right-to-Buy propaganda.  That's about 70% of its whole advertising budget.  It just shows that despite the affordable housing crisis, the Tories are still obsessed with selling off social housing.
 
"It’s also yet another example of the Tories not trusting local government, despite all their rhetoric about localism.  This time they're running a Whitehall campaign to promote right-to-buy.  But the DCLG can't help itself and even tries to dictate how often bins should be collected.  It's time for the Tories to let go and let councils get on with the job they're elected to do."

Mr Prisk also revealed that £338,543 was spent on renting 3,841 billboard and poster sites across the country, mainly at bus stops. Each site, said Mr Prisk, was booked for two weeks, with the average cost working out at £88.14 per site.

In defence of the spending, Mr Prisk said: "We are committed to ensuring that tenants are aware of the increased discount levels and their rights, and helping them to make well informed decisions."