DORSET'S three big councils between them spent almost £1.3 million of council tax payers' money last year on public relations.

Freedom of Information requests reveal Poole spent £297,205 last year, Bournemouth £618,347 and Dorset County Council, £355,614.

Dorset's public relations manager, Sally Northeast, said: "The council has a duty not just to provide services, but to tell the public what services are available and how taxpayers' money is spent.

"You also need to take into account the number of residents a council's communications unit is serving and the geographical area it serves. Dorset County Council serves a population of 400,000 in 200,000 households plus 15,000 staff."

Mark Smith, head of corporate communications at Bournemouth council, said: "We have a duty to inform residents and visitors about services and how to access them as well as showing where their money is spent.

"Last year an independent review of our communications, comparing us with similar sized authorities, revealed our PR spend was comparatively less. It covers producing and delivering 85,000 copies of our magazine, BH Life, every two months, managing and updating thousands of pages on our website daily and responding on demand to enquiries from the media every day.

"From a tourism perspective we need to retain our market-leading position and must continue to actively promote the town to encourage visitors."

Chris Owens, Poole's head of customer services and communications, said: "We have a relatively small communications team and spend less overall than many other authorities of a similar size. In 2006 81 per cent of residents responding to a survey said they felt well-informed. Feed-back from residents in another survey rated Poole top of 46 unitary authorities in England, based on overall levels of customer satisfaction.

"Council publication Poole News is well received and boroughofpoole.com rated among the best local authority website in the country, while our A-Z guide of council services was recently shortlisted for a national award."