Council newspaper

L Barnett made this Freedom of Information request to Lincolnshire County Council

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Lincolnshire County 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: Infomgt
Lincolnshire County Council

4 January 2010

Dear Sir/Madam

Freedom of Information Reference: 08352FOI

Subject: Request for information regarding Lincolnshire County Council
newspaper

Thank you for your recent request for information received by this office
on 04 January 2009. Your request is being dealt with under the terms of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will be handled by the Resources Directorate. We will aim
to respond to your request, notifying you whether or not the information
requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council and communicating that
information to you (provided that the information is not exempt under the
terms of the Act), within 20 working days from the day after your request
was received.

We may reasonably require further information from you in order to
identify and locate the information requested. If this is the case we will
contact you in due course.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely

Alyea Khan
Resources Directorate
Lincolnshire County Council

[1][Lincolnshire County Council request email]

The information we have supplied to you may contain intellectual property
rights of Lincolnshire County Council. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended), or other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.
If you would like to re-use this information for any commercial purpose
you must make a formal request to us under the Re-Use of Public Sector
Information Regulations 2005. Please email us at
[2][email address]

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From: Infomgt
Lincolnshire County Council

28 January 2010

Dear L Barnett

Freedom of Information Reference: 08352FOI

Subject: Request for information regarding Lincolnshire Council Newspaper

Thank you for your FOI request of 3^rd January 2010 about Lincolnshire
County CouncilÂ*s newspaper.

Retaining your paragraph numbering, here is the information you requested:

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).

The councilÂ*s newspaper is Inside Lincolnshire. It is published 10 times
a year (every month Â* except for combined July/August and
December/January editions). It is delivered to every home and business in
the county Â* 332,450 addresses. A further 3,500 copies are made
available through outlets such as schools, libraries and youth centres.

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 cost of the councilÂ*s newspaper in the financial year 2008/09 was
£307,052.12. In the current financial year, 2009/10, a total of
£349,259 has been budgeted.

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

Costs offset by advertising in 2008/09 represented £56,281.97. In the
current year, 2009/10 costs offset by advertising are expected to be
around £51,250.

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

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

This information is not currently broken down.

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

your newspaper, eg PCTs?

All the councilÂ*s public sector partners can seek to buy advertising
space in Inside Lincolnshire and would normally receive a discount of 20%.
The Lincolnshire Criminal Justice Board, the Lincolnshire Road Safety
Partnership, Lincolnshire Police, West Lindsey District Council, NHS
Lincolnshire, the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the
Smokefree Lincs Alliance have all advertised in the newspaper. Partners
may also buy a 4-page pullout.

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.

There is currently no written editorial policy for Inside Lincolnshire

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

governs what sort of advertising is suitable.

There is no written advertising policy. However, the council retains the
right to refuse any advertising request it considers unsuitable and takes
a cautious approach. The advertising terms and conditions are published on
page 2 of the publication each month.

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

together, including total cost and staff organisation chart.

No Lincolnshire County Council member of staff is specifically employed to
work on Inside Lincolnshire, as it is produced by an outside agency.
However, our staff photographer largely supplies photography and one
member of staff has oversight and responsibility for the contract.

We believe that this answers your request in full.

Yours sincerely

Alyea Khan
Freedom of Information
Resources Directorate
Lincolnshire County Council

[1][Lincolnshire County Council request email]

We trust you are happy with this response but if you are unhappy with the
service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request a review or our decision, please write to: Corporate
Complaints, Lincolnshire County Council, PO Box 841, Lincoln, LON ZEN

The information we have supplied to you may contain intellectual property
rights of Lincolnshire County Council. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended), or other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.

If you would like to re-use this information for any commercial purpose
you must make a formal request to us under the Re-Use of Public Sector
Information Regulations 2005. Please email us at [2]reuse
[email address]

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