Dear Mr Barnett

Request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Thank you for your email received on 5 January 2010 requesting that the following information be provided to you:

“1. The name, frequency and distribution/circulation of your council newspaper (by council newspaper I mean the most frequently published newspaper or magazine intended for mass distribution covering more than one topic)

2. How much it cost to produce and distribute said newspaper in the last full financial year, and how much was budgeted from council resources in the financial year 2009/2010

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

4. How much of that advertising, if any, comes from external sources (ie not from your authority's budgets)?

5. Which other public sector partners pay to run advertising in your newspaper, eg PCTs?

6. Whether recruitment advertising forms part of the advertising in your newspaper?

7. A copy of an editorial policy guide, if one exists, which governs the material which is placed in the newspaper, and how it is decided

8. A copy of an advertising policy guide, if one exists, which governs what sort of advertising is suitable.

9. The number of people employed to put your newspaper/newsletter together, including total cost and staff organisation chart”

The Council is treating your request as a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

On inspecting our records, it would appear that Glasgow City Council does not hold some of the information which you have requested. Neither does anyone else hold it on our behalf. Accordingly we are unable to comply with your request in full. We are unable to provide you with information regarding the amount budgeted from council resources to produce and distribute the Glasgow magazine in the financial year 2009/2010. This is because the magazine is paid from a general budget which covers other expenses and is not broken down in detail.

The remainder of information which you have requested is as follows:

The Glasgow magazine is issued bi-monthly and 300,000 copies are produced and distributed. The cost to produce and distribute the Glasgow magazine in the last full financial year is provided in the attached spreadsheet. This includes the cost offset by advertising.

For the financial year 2009/10 April 2009 to February 2010, £38,338.98 of advertising came from external sources. The Scottish Executive and SEPA pay to have advertising in our magazine.

Recruitment advertising forms do not form part of the advertising in our magazine. We also do not have an editorial policy guide, the aim of the magazine is to publicise the Council's activities. The Head of Communication and Organisational Development and Editor decide what material is placed within the magazine.

The Council does not have an advertising policy guide, which governs what sort of advertising is suitable as such. Each advert is considered on its own merits, but we do conform to the Advertising Standards Authority Key Principles CAP (Committee of Advertising Standards ) “All Marketing Communications should be Legal Decent Honest and Truthful “

It would also appear that Glasgow City Council does not hold a staff organisation chart for PR & marketing. Neither does anyone else hold it on our behalf. Accordingly we are unable to comply with your request. This is because no such chart exists. There is one person within the Council who's remit includes putting the Glasgow Magazine together. This position is Grade 7 (£30,713.91 - £36,131.62) and falls within the P R & Marketing Section within the Chief Executive's Office.

Please note that the information provided in response to your request is, unless otherwise indicated, copyright © Glasgow City Council 2010. It is supplied to you in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Any further use by you of this information must comply with the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended and/or the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997. In particular, any commercial use or re-use of the information provided requires the prior written consent of the Council.

Requests for such consent should be addressed to:

Head of PR & Marketing

Glasgow City Council

City Chambers

George Square

Glasgow

G2 1DU

Some or all of the information may be subject to third party copyright, in which case the permission of the third party copyright holder may be required. No claim is made in respect of third party copyright.

If you are dissatisfied with the way Glasgow City Council has dealt with your request you are entitled to require the Council to review its decision. Please note that for a review to take place you must:

Executive Director of Corporate Services

Glasgow City Council

City Chambers

George Square

Glasgow G2 1DU

Email: [email address]

You will receive notice of the results of the review within 20 working days of receipt of your request. The notice will state the decision reached by the reviewing officer as well as details of how to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response. You must request an internal review by the Council before a complaint can be directed to the Scottish Information Commissioner.

If you have any further queries regarding this process, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Ayshea Brown

Freedom of Information Officer

Glasgow - Proud Host City of the 2014 Commonwealth Games