A COUNCIL has come under attack after it was revealed it spent millions of pounds on publicity but also cut grants.

Greenwich Council spent nearly £3.2m in the last financial year - more than Bexley, Bromley and Croydon councils combined, which collectively spent around £2.5m.

The figure has gone up from £743,000 10 years ago, a 329 per cent increase, according to figures obtained by campaign group The TaxPayers' Alliance.

Opposition councillor Graeme Coombes said: "The people of Greenwich are paying Greenwich Council for it to tell them how wonderful it is.

"It's unnecessary spending. The voters themselves can decide."

With two community schools facing closure following the withdrawal of council funding, Conservative Councillor Coombes criticised the authority for getting its priorities wrong.

"If the axe should fall, it should fall on publicity," said Councillor Coombes, a member of the finance and central services scrutiny panel.

News Shopper previously reported how the Greenwich Chinese Community School, Old Woolwich Road, Greenwich, which looks after nearly 500 pupils every Sunday, was told its £11,409 grant will be stopped from April 1 next year.

This is due to a change in the commissioning process for voluntary organisations which meant those which have regularly received grants in the past no longer automatically qualified for them.

Headteacher Josephine Chan slammed the council for spending so much on publicity, saying it should be spent on education instead.

"It's not necessary," said Ms Chan. "There are more important things."

Now a supplementary school run by the Asian Resource Centre, Macbean Street, Woolwich, may be forced to fold.

The school, which has nearly 350 students every year, teaches adults and children English and maths, as well as languages such as Punjabi, Urdu and Arabic.

Last year, it was given the Silver Quality Framework Award by Lord Adonis, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools.

This was awarded for achieving a range of educational standards.

But centre manager Ameen Hussain says the council is planning to stop its annual grant of £26,348 next year, leaving it with no option but to close.

Under the new commissioning process, the schools may be eligible for a council grant of up to £2,000, but they say this is not enough.

The council says the new process is being introduced because of an increase in voluntary organisations applying for cash.

But Mr Hussain says education should come before publicity.

"They are spending so much money on these things and ignoring the needs of the community," he said.

He fears the move may isolate communities.

Mr Hussain added: "It is a pity the council, with its rich cultural diversity, has taken this negative approach rather than improving and expanding.

"In the long run, this will have a serious impact on the achievement of all our children, particularly black and minority ethnic children."

A council spokesman says there will be no cuts to the amount of money given to community groups, but there will be a new, fairer way of allocating it.

She said this was necessary because of an increase in voluntary organisations in the borough.

The spokesman added publicity was an important way of keeping residents informed of what the council was doing, and also made it more efficient.

She said: "The council has to provide lots of information.

"If you go onto our website, it's about helping people communicate with us 24 hours a day."

She said the authority was not spending more on publicity.