Live discussion: Communicating cuts to local communities

Communication is key in local government, especially when it comes to explaining how services are going to run. Bus timetables, opening hours, bin collections - councils are good at telling residents the when, where and how, but what about the why? Government plans to cut the deficit have made cutbacks part of the everyday running of a local authority, and the fact that some services will have to go is widely accepted by those in the sector. But, with residents who are used to a high standard of service, how can local government communicate the need for cuts without facing a standoff or a PR disaster? Communities secretary Eric Pickles recently announced changes to the way councils could run newspapers , restricting them to just four per year. The decision has caused concern among some in the sector , who argue that council papers are a cost-effective way of ensuring everyone knows what decisions are being made. Others claim freesheets are being used as political broadcasts and are an inaccurate and costly method of communicating. So who is right? In this live discussion we'll be looking at how councils can communicate with local residents, specifically about cuts to services. We'll be talking about the role of social networking, including Twitter and Facebook, as well as more traditional methods of getting the message across. Ultimately, we'll be asking how far councils should consult residents on the decisions they make, and if giving people a choice about what to save is the best way of running services. Join us live from 12pm on Wednesday 23 June or post your comments now. Panel: James Mole is press officer for the New Local Government Network (NLGN) and is responsible for the organisation's media profile. Before joining NLGN, James worked in an MP's constituency office and in a major party press office during the 2010 General Election Julian Ellerby is director of campaigns and communications at Lambeth Council . Julian oversees communications for the council and has led on communicating to residents and staff about changes to services and the reductions in budgets Angus Fox is director of Multizone , specialising in Social Mobile app development and strategy in the public sector. Multizone's mobile phone apps are in use by Surrey Police to engage with the community - online and in real time Alex Aiken is director of communications and strategy at Westminster City Council . He is an acknowledged leader in local authority communications and the PR Week Power Book 2011 describes him as "the best known local government comms head in the country". Alex is also Secretary of LG communications Ian McPherson is a director leading the local government advisory business within BDO (Twitter - @BDOlocalgov). Ian began his career in the military and held two senior posts in local government before joining the private sector 7 years ago Claire McGrory is director at Rose McGrory Social Media Management and Head of Marketing at GovMetric, a customer feedback tool for councils & CouncilMonitor, a social media monitoring tool for councils. Claire works with local authorities on a daily basis to help them listen to and communicate with their residents This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the local government network for more like this direct to your inbox.