Council newspaper

L Barnett made this Freedom of Information request to Test Valley Borough Council

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

4 January 2010

Dear Test Valley Borough Council,
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I wish to
receive the following information from your authority:

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

Some parts of this request may be easier to answer than others, and
should this prove to be the case I would ask that you release
available data as soon as possible rather than hold up the entire
request.

I would prefer to receive this information electronically. If the
decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in
Act, please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used.

If you need any clarification then please contact me at the email.
Under your section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance I would
expect you to contact me if you find this request unmanageable in
any way.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have
received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you in
the near future.

Yours faithfully,

L Barnett

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From: freedomofinformation
Test Valley Borough Council

5 January 2010

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your "Freedom of Information" request. This has been
passed to the relevant Department to deal with and they will be replying
to you within 20 working days.

Kind regards
Linda Judd
Legal & Democratic Services
Ext: 8402 (pm)

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From: Brown, Christine
Test Valley Borough Council

9 February 2010

Dear Mr Barnett

Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your request for
information.

1. The name, frequency and distribution/circulation of the council
newspaper

Test Valley's civic newspaper is called 'Test Valley News' and is
currently published three times per year. In 2010/11 it is expected that
the frequency will be reduced to two times per year. The circulation is
approximately 49,000 for each edition.

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

In the financial year 2008/09 the cost of production and distribution was
£50,830 (exclusive of advertising)

In the financial year 2009/10 the budgeted cost of production and
distribution is £47,500 (exclusive of advertising)

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

Actual advertising income for the 2008/09 financial year was £3,450

Projected advertising income for the 2009/10 financial year is £3,500,
which we expect to exceed this year.

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

All of the advertising is from external sources.

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

Hampshire County Council - recycling advertisements as part of a
county-wide project

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

No.

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

The following statement is included with each copy of 'Test Valley News':

'The aim of Test Valley News is to keep the residents of Test Valley up to
date with relevant information about the public services and facilities
available to them and to provide other important local information. Other
relevant material is often also inserted and delivered with Test Valley
News.'

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

Test Valley News Advertising Policy

Any advertisement should conform to the Advertising Code of Practice
([1]http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/cap_code/). In summary it should be
legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Any advertisement that may be considered political or locally
controversial will not be accepted.

Advertising intended to influence the outcome of any form of consultation
will not be accepted.

A disclaimer will appear in each edition of Test Valley News that carries
advertising stating *Test Valley Borough Council has certain statutory and
regulatory duties. Appearance of any advertising in this publication
should not be considered as an endorsement from the Council of any
organisation to which these duties apply.*

Advertisements will not be accepted that, in the view of the Editor,
conflict with the Council*s stated vision, values or corporate priorities.

Since short pieces of editorial material are accepted from partner
organisations at present, therefore discounted advertising will not be
offered to these organisations.

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

There are no dedicated members of staff for the production of 'Test Valley
News'. The Communications team comprises one full time Communications
Manager, one part time Communications Officer and a part time Complaints
and Improvement Officer. From time to time all members of the team will
be involved in aspects of the production and distribution of the
publication. On this basis it is not possible to give a meaningful
overall cost for staff time.

Christine Brown
Communications Manager
Test Valley Borough Council
Tel: 01264 368108
HPSN: 991 8108
[2]Mailto:[email address]
[3]www.testvalley.gov.uk

The information in this e-mail is confidential. The content may not be
disclosed or used by anyone other than the intended recipient. If you are
not the intended recipient, please notify the Council's Data Protection
Administrator immediately on 01264 368231. Test Valley Borough Council
cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this
message as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you suspect
that the message may have been intercepted or amended, please call the
Data Protection Administrator on the above phone number.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/cap_code/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/

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