Council newspapers

L Barnett made this Freedom of Information request to Dover District Council

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Dover District 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: AutomatedResponse
Dover District Council

3 January 2010

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is an automated response from [Dover District Council request email] to
thank you for your e-mail and to confirm that it has successfully reached
us.

Where a reply is required, we aim to respond to customer enquiries as soon
as possible, however please note that if the subject is particularly
complicated or requires substantial investigation then it may take up to
10 working days to provide you with a full and accurate response.

If you have access to the Internet you may wish to see if your enquiry can
be dealt with online. The Dover District Council website
[1](http://www.dover.gov.uk) enables many forms to be completed and
payments to be made as well as providing comprehensive information about
our services.

Note: Please do not reply to this message as it is from an automated
response mailbox that is unmonitored.

Thank You.

Dover District Council.
Whitecliffs Business Park,
Whitfield, Dover, Kent.
CT16 3PJ
Tel: 01304 821199

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From: Mandy Weir
Dover District Council

4 January 2010

Dear Mr Barnett

Thank you for your request for information about our District magazine.
Your request was received on 4 January 2010 and we are dealing with it
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We will
endeavour to respond within 20 working days and if we think the request
requires extra time then we will contact you and let you know.

In some circumstances a fee may be chargeable and if that is the case, I
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries regarding this email, please contact me.

Yours sincerely

Mandy Weir
Performance Officer
Dover District Council
Council Offices, White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3PJ

Tel: 01304 872318
Fax: 01304 872300
Email: [email address]
Web: www.dover.gov.uk

P Please consider the Environment before printing this email

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From: Mandy Weir
Dover District Council

18 January 2010

Dear L Barnett

I am writing in respect of your enquiry for information held by this Authority received on 4 January 2010 and to confirm that we have completed the search for the information that you requested. You were seeking information regarding the Council's newletter. Please find detailed below the questions you have asked, with our response underneath.

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)

Dover District Council is currently working in partnership with Kent County Council to produce a joint residents' newsletter entitled Dover
District Council and Kent County Council @ your service. This was launched in October 2009 and is currently being produced twice a year. It is
delivered to around 50,000 households.

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

For 08/09, Dover District Council @ your service newsletter (produced quarterly) cost DDC £15,555 to print and £12,683 to distribute, total cost
£28,238.

For 09/10, the budget is £7,500 for printing and £6,500 for distribution, total budget £14,000.

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

We do not take commercial advertising.

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

We do not take commercial advertising.

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

We do not take commercial advertising.

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

We do not carry recruitment advertising in the newsletter.

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 do not produce an editorial policy guide.

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

We do not produce an advertising policy guide.

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

The residents' newsletter is produced in-house, in partnership with Kent County Council. The newsletter is brought together for Dover District
Council by officers, as a minor part of the wider responsibilities of the PR Manager and the Graphic Designer at the Council. The Council's
organisational chart is available on our website, the following link will take you to it:
http://www.dover.gov.uk/pdf/Structure%20...

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me

I hope you find the information enclosed useful but if, for whatever reason, you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you are entitled to pursue any dissatisfaction through the Council's Complaints Procedure.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Mandy Weir
Performance Officer
Dover District Council
Council Offices, White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3PJ

Tel: 01304 872318
Fax: 01304 872300
Email: [email address]
Web: www.dover.gov.uk

P Please consider the Environment before printing this email

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