SPECIFIC questions raised with Northumberland County Council on the authority’s decision over publication of statutory notices are yet to be answered.

Following attempts to contact the leader of the council directly, Coun. Grant Davey issued the following statement via a spokesman: “A decision to try and save money against the backdrop of severe central Government cuts seems to have been hijacked by people intent on turning this into a party political issue. It isn’t.

“We’ve got to balance the books in Northumberland and we’re looking at many ways to save money across the council.”

This week we asked:

l If the decision not to place public notices in the Hexham Courant relates to the council making cost savings then why was a best practice approach not adopted and the contract put out to tender?

l How long is the trial of placing public notices relating to west Northumberland exclusively in the Northumberland Gazette?

l What are the prominent public locations, where copies of the Northumberland Gazette are now available free of charge in west Northumberland?

l Have they been available in these locations since December? If not, why not?

l How many copies are being made available, and who is footing the bill for these papers, which have a cover price of £1.25 each?

l What other newspapers, apart from the Northumberland Gazette , are the council currently using for the publication of these notices?

l Why has the council halted the sale of copies of the Hexham Courant at Prudhoe Waterworld and Hexham’s Wentworth Leisure Centre – a source of income to the council?

The official response from a council spokesman was: “We have nothing further to add to the chief executive’s previous correspondence.”