Council newspaper

L Barnett made this Freedom of Information request to Hastings Borough Council

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Hastings 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: Information Officer
Hastings Borough Council

3 January 2010

Thank you for contacting us.

We aim to respond to requests for information within 20 working days, in
accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

If your request is for personal information your request will be dealt
with according to the requirements of the Data Protection Act and the
timescale for response may be extended to 40 days.

The Freedom of Information area on our website, [1]www.hastings.gov.uk,
can be accessed via a 'Quick Hit' direct link from the site's home page
and contains advice about how to make a request for information.

Information about all our services, including contact details, location,
and links to information published by services on the site, is available
in the A to Z of Services area which can also be accessed via a 'Quick
Hit' direct link from the site's home page.

Information Officer
Hastings Borough Council
01424 451066
[2]www.hastings.gov.uk

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From: Information Officer
Hastings Borough Council

15 January 2010

Dear Sir or Madam,

I refer to your recent request for information from this Authority. Our
answers to your questions are below.

I trust we have interpreted your request correctly, and this is the
information you required.

You have a right to make a complaint to us if you are not happy with any
aspect of the way we have handled your request for information. Please
contact me in writing with details of any complaint you wish to make. I
will then arrange for your complaint to be dealt with through our usual
internal complaints process. If you are then still unhappy you may
complain to the Information Commissioner who will decide whether the
request has been handled properly.

Yours faithfully,

Kerry Wolfe
Information Officer
Hastings Borough Council
Telephone: 01424 451066

Start of Request for Information

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:  About Magazine

Frequency:  3 times a year

Distribution/circulation:  47,000 copies door dropped and available at
the Hastings Information Centre

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

2008/09

Costs:  £18,246

Income:  £6,500

2009/10

Costs:  £16,469

Income:  Information not held.

How much of that cost is offset by advertising

2008/09

£6,500

2009/10

Information not held.

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

2008/09

£500

2009/10

Information not held.

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

We have included PCTs and similar on an ad hoc basis

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

No

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

Information not held.  No policy guide for the magazine exists

    

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

Information not held.  No policy guide for advertising exists

    

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

The production of the magazine is part of the Senior Communications
Officer and Graphic Designer job roles.  Staff time spent in relation to
the production of the magazine is not captured and therefore information
relating to staff costs is not held.

Head of Destination Management

- Senior Communications Officer

- Marketing Manager

-           Graphic Designer

End of Request for Information

Please note:

This information is copyrighted to Hastings Borough Council and is
supplied for your personal use only. Except as permitted under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the information supplied may not
be copied, distributed, published, or exploited for commercial purposes or
financial gain without the explicit written consent of Hastings Borough
Council.

We do not give permission for this information to be used for the purposes
of direct marketing.

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Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Hastings Borough Council only: