Dear Tunbridge Wells 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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Customer Service Team

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

Town Hall

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Kent TN1 1RS

Tel: 01892 526121

Fax: 01892 534227

SMS: 07870 526121

This e-mail is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom
it is addressed. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and
do not necessarily represent those of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. If you are not
the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and
that any use, dissemination, forwarding,printing or copying of this e-mail is
strictly prohibited.

If you have received this e-mail in error please notify Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
IT Help Desk on telephone +44 (0)1892 526121 extension 3118 or e-mail to
[Tunbridge Wells Borough Council request email].

References

Visible links
1. http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/

Dear L Barnett,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request which has been forwarded onto our FOI Officer Ingrid Weatherup who will reply to your request directly.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards
Sarah

Sarah J Fuller
Customer Service Advisor
Customer Access & Business Transformation
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN1 1RS
Tel: (01892) 526121
Fax: (01892) 534227
[email address]
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

 Help us to improve our service to you by completing our online Customer Service Satisfaction  Survey :  www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/feedback

show quoted sections

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request regarding the
Council's newspaper. You have requested the following information and our
response is set out below.

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)

Name of publication is Local. Distributed four times a year via Royal
Mail door to door to all 45,000 households in Tunbridge Wells
borough.

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 2009/10 it cost £39,044 to produce and distribute the Local.

In 2010/11 we have budgeted £40,000 for the production and distribution.
We have budgeted income of £9,000.

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

2009/2010 £2,710 received back in advertising.

4. How much of that advertising, if any, comes from external

sources (ie not from your authority's budgets)?

All of it, we don't charge internal departments.

5. Which other public sector partners pay to run advertising in

your newspaper, eg PCTs?

None so far. We tend to run articles for free if they are of
interest to our residents. Our advertising is from private companies in
the main.

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

We don't have a written one but we agree content with a cross party
member editorial board. We include articles about council services
and initiatives and include articles from partner organisations from
the public and voluntary sector. Officers and members are asked to
contribute articles and we invite partner organisations to do the
same. The editorial board have the final decision on content.

8. A copy of an advertising policy guide, if one exists, which

governs what sort of advertising is suitable.

I attach a link to our Design and Definition policy below:

[1]http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/we...

9. The number of people employed to put your newspaper/newsletter

together, including total cost and staff organisation chart

The Communications Manager has advised that it is part of her
role, although other members of staff write their articles. The
Communications Manager has estimated it takes approximately four days of
her time per edition and three days by the Website Manager. I attach a
link to our website which provides details of our Management Directory :
[2]http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/Defaul...

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further queries
please contact me on 01892 554077 or via e-mail to
[3][email address]

 

If you are dissatisfied with the information provided or the way in which
we have dealt with your request, you can make a complaint under the
Council's Complaints Procedure. Please write to William Benson, Chief
Executive, at the Town Hall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1RS or via e-mail
to [4][email address] requesting a review of the
decision. You can find details of our Complaints Procedure on our website
at [5]www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk .

 

We will aim to deal with any complaint within 20 working days. If you
remain dissatisfied following our review, you can then appeal to the
Information Commissioner:

Information Commissioner's Office

 

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545745

[6]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Kind regards

Ingrid

Ingrid Weatherup
Customer Care Manager
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Tel:      01892 554077
e-mail:  [7][email address]
Help us to improve our service to you by completing our online Customer
Satisfaction survey - [8]http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/feedback

This e-mail is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom
it is addressed. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and
do not necessarily represent those of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. If you are not
the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and
that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail is
strictly prohibited.

If you have received this e-mail in error please notify Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
IT Help Desk on telephone +44 (0)1892 526121 extension 3118 or e-mail to
[Tunbridge Wells Borough Council request email].

References

Visible links
1. http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/we...
2. http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/Defaul...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/
6. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
7. mailto:[email address]
8. http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/feedback