Council newspaper

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

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Hounslow 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: Alexandra Cochrane
Hounslow Borough Council

9 February 2010

Dear L Barnett,

Please find below our response to your recent FOI request concerning the
London Borough of Hounslow's magazine, Hounslow Matters.

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: Hounslow Matters

Frequency: 11 editions per year

Circulation: Approximately 95,000

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

2008/09 - £212,304

Budgeted for 2009/10 - £217,400

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

This differs from month to month

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

All advertising comes from external sources

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

The local PCT has paid to advertise.

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

N/A

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

N/A

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

N/A

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

The magazine staff is made up of one full-time Editor, who sits in the
Corporate Communications team.

Salary - 2008/09 - £39,825

Many thanks for your enquiry,

A. Cochrane

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From: L Barnett

24 February 2010

Dear Alexandra Cochrane,

Thanks for your reply.

Please could you give me the annual figure for advertising, along
with a list of the external partners who pay to advertise.

Yours sincerely,

L Barnett

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From: Alexandra Cochrane
Hounslow Borough Council

8 March 2010

Dear L Barnett,

Please find below the information that you requested for the last full financial year, 2008/09.

The annual figure for advertising was £8,900. Those advertising in the magazine were:

The Energy saving Advice Centre (x2 advertisements)
A2 Homeownership (x2 advertisements)
Hounslow PCT
The Metropolitan Police

Best regards,

Alexandra Cochrane

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