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Councils could be banned from using 'bedroom tax' phrase in move to veto contentious language
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles could be given power to put a blue pencil through any language with which he disagrees, critics claim
Councils could be banned from using the phrase "bedroom tax" under moves to give Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, the power to veto contentious language in local authority newsletters, leaflets and online publicity, critics claimed on Wednesday night.
Town halls joined forces with Labour to condemn plans to turn Mr Pickles into Whitehall's "censor-in-chief" by stopping them from criticising Government policy.
They protested that the new powers could also prevent Tory councils from attacking the Coalition's support for the HS2 rail link between London and Birmingham or from criticising any future decision to expand Heathrow airport.
Their anger centres on measures in the Local Audit and Accountability Bill, which is about to become law, to require council publications to comply with a new code of conduct. It is designed to prevent left-wing councils from using taxpayer-funded freesheets to convey critical messages.
But the moves, which could also apply to websites and Facebook pages, are so widely-drawn that they could give Mr Pickles the power to put a blue pencil through any language with which he disagrees, critics claimed.
The term "bedroom tax" could fall foul of the legislation, with councils obliged to use the phrase "spare room subsidy" to describe cuts to housing benefit to tenants in social housing who are deemed to have a spare room.