Council newspaper

Thank you for your email.

East Lothian Council will close for the festive season on Thursday 24 December 2009 until Tuesday 5 January 2010. Your enquiry will be registered and dealt with upon our return in the New Year.

If you have submitted a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, you may expect to receive our response within 20 working days of the date of receipt.

With best wishes

Law & Licensing
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Haddington
EH41 3HA
Tel: 01620 827623
Fax: 01620 827438
Email: [East Lothian Council request email]

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Our Ref: 2010/001

Dear Sir or Madam

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

Thank you for your email. Your enquiry has been registered and passed to the appropriate department for action. Our response should be issued to you no later than 2 February.

If you require any further assistance in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Shelley Neville
Law & Licensing
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Haddington
EH41 3HA

Tel: 01620 827623
Fax: 01620 827438
Email: [East Lothian Council request email]

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Our Ref: 2010/001

Dear Sir or Madam

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

Further to your enquiry of 3 January, on behalf of East Lothian Council, I
am now able to provide the information you require:

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)

East Lothian Living - produced three times a year (March, August and
November) and delivered by Royal Mail to household addresses in East
Lothian (45,000 copies)

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

The publication of the paper was under review in 2008/09 and only two
issues were published that year. The total print production and postal
delivery cost was £17,383.41. £30,000 is budgeted for production of
three issues in 2009/2010. Publication and frequency will be reviewed by
the Council for the 2010/11budget.

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

Only very limited advertising is carried given the size of the newspaper
(a tabloid of generally 8 to 12 pages). This income varies from year to
year, but to date in 2009/2010 amounts to £500. Internal adverts carried
on behalf of council services is not charged.

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

All advertising income comes from external sources.

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

Local College; occasional NHS supplements in previous years, but not
2008/09 or 2009/10

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

Recruitment adverts are not carried

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.

No current Editorial Policy guide although one will be produced in the
Spring of this year

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

None current, although this will be incorporated into the editorial guide

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

Layout and print production is currently carried out on our behalf by
Connect Communications with delivery carried out by Royal Mail through the
National Leaflet Company. Stories are compiled by internal communications
staff as part of a wide range of other PR, media and marketing duties.
The amount of staff time spent varies greatly from issue to issue and is
dependent on the availability of different staff at different times to
work on articles. Please advise if you would like an estimate of staff
time and staff costs based on an average issue, as this information is not
currently recorded.

Communications staff involved to varying degrees in production of Living
newsletter:

Communications and Democratic Services Manager

l

Media Manager

l

Communications Officers (x2)

Public Relations Officer

If you are dissatisfied with the way your request has been handled or with
the information we have provided, you are entitled to request that we
undertake an internal review. We must receive such a request within 40
working days of the date of this notice. A request to review our decision
must be in writing (e-mail is acceptable) or another permanent format. We
will then have 20 working days from the date we receive your request in
order to complete our review and give you our decision. The review will
be conducted by the Chief Executive or another official nominated by him.
Please address this request to:

The Chief Executive

East Lothian Council

John Muir House

Haddington

EH41 3HA

If you are still not satisfied with our decision following the review
process, then you may ask the Office of the Scottish Information
Commissioner (OSIC) to investigate the matter. You may contact OSIC at:

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

Fife

KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

E-mail: [email address]

Information about East Lothian Council’s complaints procedure can be
found at:
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/site/scrip...

Yours sincerely

Shelley Neville

Law & Licensing

East Lothian Council

John Muir House

Haddington

EH41 3HA

Tel: 01620 827623

Fax: 01620 827438

Email: [East Lothian Council request email]

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