Council newspaper

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

The request was partially successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Luton 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: Stipta, Rosemary
Luton Borough Council

30 January 2010

Thank you for your request - the answers are as follows:

1)Lutonline
10 editions per annum
Distributed to 72,000 households, with a further 3,000 copies being available from council offices, Leisure and Community centres and libraries.

2)The actual costs for editing, photography, print and distribution for 08/09 was £84,776.60.
The budget for 2009/2010 is £76,000

3 and 4) The publication is offset by both internal and external advertising:
Internal 08/09: £36,554.90
External 08/09: £44,921.19

5)We have run campaigns with Bedfordshire Police in the last year.

6)Recruitment advertising is not carried in the paper.

7) The aim of Lutonline is to keep residents and others informed about council initiatives, services and policies. The contents list for Lutonline and subsequent articles and layout is reviewed and approved by the Head of Communications and PR Manager. Lutonline must comply with the code of practice on local government publicity, issued under the Local Government Act 1986 (as amended in 1988 and 2001). The code stipulates that publicity or information campaigns should:
* promote well-being
* not be politically partisan
* be balanced, informative and accurate
* not be designed to persuade people to hold a certain view.

8)The Council should consider the acceptability of offers of sponsorship and advertising support on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the combination of sponsor/advertiser and the initiative concerned to determine its acceptability. Advertising must be in keeping with the council's objectives and corporate values. Please also see http://www.luton.gov.uk/media%20library/...

9) We have one part-time freelance arrangement for editorial services. In 2008-09 this cost £12,250.

I hope this answers your enquiry but if you are unhappy with our response, please write to me, Rosemary Stipta, Corporate Information Officer at Town Hall, Luton, Beds, LU1 2BQ, so that I can arrange further investigation. If you remain unhappy after the conclusion of the Council's internal complaints procedure, you may apply to the information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

Rose

Rose Stipta
Corporate Information Officer
Luton Borough Council
Tel 01582 546398
Fax 01582 546451
Email [email address]
Website www.luton.gov.uk

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