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HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

RESOURCES SCRUTINY COMMITTEETHURSDAY 24TH JANUARY 2008 AT 10.00 AM

EXPENDITURE ON COMMUNICATIONS

Report of the Communications Director

Author: John Sellgren, Communications Director, Tel: 01992 555619

Executive Member: Robert Gordon and David Lloyd

1. Purpose of the report

Members have requested a one-off scrutiny of the current spend on communications and publicity, and in particular to consider:

Whether the current staffing levels and expenditure is required Whether the current staffing levels and expenditure represents value

for money Whether savings could be found Whether there are other costs associated with communications

This report provides background data to assist Members in the consideration of this issue and responds to the particular questions which have been raised.

2. Background

The county council’s communications function is responsible for providing information about the council to the county’s 1.1million residents, 49,000 businesses, and the 120,000 people who travel into the county to work each day. In addition, it is responsible for communications with the council’s 28,500 staff and 77 elected members and its partner organisations.

The objectives of the council’s communications function are to: Increase awareness, accessibility and take-up of county council

services Create a better understanding between the authority and its various

audiences through effective customer relations Deliver accurate, timely and accessible information to service users,

and residents, including hard-to-reach groups Support councillors in their work as elected representatives Monitor public perceptions of services Engage and inform staff across the organisation Ensure the public recognise the services provided and funded by

Hertfordshire County CouncilTo deliver information to each of these audiences the council uses a range of communication channels, such as printed publications, electronic media, presentations, campaign materials and the media. In recent years, the county

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Agenda Item No.

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council’s public website hertsdirect.org and its intranet site Connect (for internal communications), have also become increasingly important channels of communication. This development has supported the drive from central government to make local government services available online.

The county council’s tracking survey undertaken by ORS in the autumn of 2007 shows that 61% of people felt that they are kept “very well” or “fairly well” informed about “the county council and the services and benefits it provides”.

The communications staff are responsible for a portfolio of over 500 printed publications, and work with 32 local newspapers, 6 local radio stations, and 4 local television stations and several hundred other media agencies (including national and international outlets). They are directly responsible for a significant amount of the information which appears on hertsdirect.org and Connect and also have oversight of much of the other material which is issued by the council.

3. The communications function

The communications function is organised into five functional teams. Three of these teams provide communications support to the council’s three largest service departments; ACS, CSF and Environment. There is a central media team handling all media enquiries and preparing and distributing press releases. A fifth team comprises the marketing unit which, in addition to providing communications support to the council’s other service departments (Corporate Services, Trading Standards, Statutory Services and the Fire & Rescue Service), also provides marketing advice and support to all of the council’s departments, including acting as ‘guardian’ of the council’s visual identity and brand.

Each team has responsibility for maintaining sections of the council’s website and for working closely with the Knowledge Information Unit and e-Government Systems Team to ensure that web developments meet the ever-increasing expectations of the general public.

The council’s total spend on publicity (excluding staff recruitment advertising) was £2,418k in 2006/07. This money is held largely by service departments and is used to fund the wide range of materials which are listed in Appendix 1 of this report. The direct expenditure on the communications function in the equivalent financial year (2006/07) was £1,339k.

The budget for the communications function in the financial year 2007/08 is £1,457k. Most of this budget, £913k (63%) is on staffing and staffing related costs. Of the ‘other costs’ (£544k), £508k (86%) is spent on publicity materials, which includes £135k to funds the production and distribution of the residents’ magazine ‘Hertfordshire Horizons’.

The gross budget for communications over the last three years is shown in Table 1 below. Year on year increases in the communications budget are accounted for by pay and price inflation, as applied across the council. During the period covered by this data, the function has been centralised and there

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have been some transfers from other council budgets to centralise the control of spending previously funded held within devolved budgets. However, allowing for these transfers the net budget has not grown by more than inflation.

Table 1 Communications Budget 2005/06 to 2007/08Year Staff costs

(£000)Other costs

(£000)Total

(£000)2005/06 699 519 1,2182006/07 843 496 1,3392007/08 913 544 1,457

There are currently 18 full-time and 8 part-time staff in communications, equating to a total of 21.5 full-time equivalent staff (FTE).

The work of communications staff is wide ranging and includes the following principal activities:

Preparing public information documents Supporting consultation exercises Providing web-based information Providing information for Members and staff Providing communications advice to departmental boards and elected

Members Media management Advising on promotional campaigns (e.g. Travelwise and fire safety) Managing or supporting conferences and events Developing the communications capability and capacity of the

organisation (through things such as advising on good communications practice)

Supporting staff training in matters relating to communications.

A three year communications strategy provides the overall framework to guide the development of communications across the council. Each of the communications teams develop and implement detailed communications strategies to support the overarching strategy and to respond to the specific requirements of the service area or function within which they work. These strategies address both external and internal communications requirements.

4. Comparative costs

It is a requirement under the Local Government Act 1986 for each council to keep a separate account of their expenditure on publicity. The results of an exercise undertaken by The Taxpayers’ Alliance to gather this information for all local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland was reported in December 2007 (The Taxpayers Alliance 2007).

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Table 2 Comparative spend on publicity for Eastern and South Eastern shire county councils

County PopulationPublicity spend

(£000)Publicity per

headKent 1,369,900 3,737 2.73Buckinghamshire 481,500 1,300 2.70Suffolk 692,100 1,814 2.62Oxfordshire 626,900 1,518 2.42East Sussex 497,900 1,104 2.22Surrey 1,075,500 2,300 2.14Essex 1,340,000 2,853 2.13Cambridgeshire 588,900 1,169 1.99Bedfordshire 397,700 687 1.73Hampshire 1,259,500 1,962 1.56Hertfordshire 1,048,200 1,617 1.54West Sussex 764,400 1,170 1.53Norfolk 824,200 900 1.09

This table shows that Hertfordshire has the third lowest spend on publicity of all the counties in the Eastern and South Eastern Regions. Hertfordshire’s spend equates to £1.54 per person per annum.

Hertfordshire has a communications staff of 21.5 FTE. Of the counties in the Eastern and South Eastern Regions, Hertfordshire is closest in size to Surrey which has 28 FTE staff. Essex has 32 FTE, Hampshire 22.5 FTE and Kent 19 FTE (excluding communications based in departments), all of these counties larger in population than Hertfordshire. Norfolk with 18 FTE and West Sussex with12 FTE are somewhat smaller than Hertfordshire.

The county council has a statutory requirement to place public notices and Members should be aware that an element of the expenditure in Table 2 relates to advertising costs relating to them. In the financial year 2006/07 £120,525 was spent. The media buying for public notices is carried out by Tribal Resourcing, a specialist agency, as part of the council’s recruitment centre contract with Manpower, and so the county council benefits from significant discounts on the advertising rates.

5. The products of the communications function

The major direct outputs of the communications function are publications, media coverage, web presence, events, campaigns and support to consultation exercises. Indirect outputs are increasing public awareness of the council, its services and service developments. The audiences for these communications are varied, and include; the public at large, local businesses, service users and non-users, schools, voluntary organisations, partners and stakeholder groups. As a large organisation the council also has a wide range of communications for staff. In addition, the council communicates indirectly to everyone through the media.

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In addition to communicating with the public and staff, communications professionals contribute skills and advice in a wide range of ways to support the work of service departments. These activities include:

Advising on statutory and other consultations Advising Directors, elected Members and departmental boards Supporting the council’s emergency response Advising on campaigns and promotions Managing events, conferences and exhibitions Supporting the delivery of web-based information Developing and advising on the use of the council’s brand and identity Developing the communications capability and capacity of staff within

the organisation Communications advice to schools

This following sections of the report addresses each of the four major areas of communications activity.

i) Communication with the publicii) Communication through the mediaiii) Communication with staff and partnersiv) Communication support activities

Communication with the public:Research by MORI and the Audit Commission (Local Government Association 2006) has consistently shown that there is a strong link between residents’ satisfaction with their council and how well the council keeps them informed. In its report ‘Perceptions of Local Government in England’ published in 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government claimed that one of the reasons that the general public mistrusts local government is because many people feel that their council made little effort to communicate with them. In its recommendations on how councils could address this issue, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the IDeA (2006) stressed the importance of developing an appropriate mix of communication methods, taking account of differing local needs, circumstances and preferences.

The expenditure on publicity shown in Table 2 includes a wide array of publications which are supported by staff in the communications function. A comprehensive list of these publications is contained in Appendix 1 of this report.

In addition to paper-based communications, the county council also uses its website to communicate with the public and receives some 35 million page views per year. The council’s Customer Service Centre provides a telephone-based service and handles 1 million contacts per year for customers who choose to use this method for contacting the council. The council continues to retain the facility for face-to-face visits through its various public service points. This multi-channel approach is consistent with that proposed in the CLG and IDeA report (CLG and IDeA 2006). Within Hertfordshire County Council, communications staff are responsible for providing information to service public information through all of these communications channels.

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The county council produces a residents’ magazine which is distributed to all households three times a year. It is written and edited by communications staff. The format of the magazine was updated in April 2007 and the contract for production was tendered by Hertfordshire Business Services. The cost of producing and distributing Hertfordshire Horizons is £194,559 per annum for three editions a year, of which £134,559 is funded by the council and £60,000 is funded by selling advertising space in the title. The unit cost to the council tax payer is therefore 28.6p per household per annum for three editions of Hertfordshire Horizons.

The county council’s tracking survey undertaken in the autumn of 2007 shows that, of those who said that they had seen Hertfordshire Horizons, 68% found it very or fairly useful. 64% of readers said that they read at least a few or more articles, and 40% said that they read all or most of it.

Communication through the media:National research confirms that the local media is one of the most common sources of information that local people use to find out about what is happening in the locality and about their local council. Such research also demonstrates that the way that the council is portrayed in the media can have a significant impact on people’s perceptions. A report by the Department for Communities and Local Government published in 2006 highlighted the fact that perceptions about councils were commonly formed by word of mouth from friends and family, and from the local press. This showed that in general, people were most positive about their council in areas where the council had a good relationship with the local press. (Communities and Local Government 2006)

The media coverage secured by the media team is constantly monitored and coverage about the county council is recorded. All articles which appear in the local press are categorised according to whether they are ‘positive’, ‘balanced’, or ‘critical’ or ‘information only’. Within the communications industry the equivalent advertising value (EAV) is the standard measure employed to evaluate the performance of media relations work. Equivalent Advertising Value is a measure of the amount of cover secured in a newspaper, calculated by the size of the article and multiplied by the advertising rate per column of taking paid space within that same newspaper. In summary, it is a measure of the direct cost (through advertising) of getting the same amount of coverage in the newspaper.

Equivalent advertising value is therefore a measure of the outcome achieved by a press office function. Table 3 below shows the EAV secured by Hertfordshire County Council’s press office over the last 4 available months. It is important to note that only positive stories have been included in the calculation. This calculation has been possible since the introduction of an upgrade to our media management software ‘Newsflash’ during 2007.

It is common practice in the private sector to multiply the EAV by three, as editorial space is thought to be worth more than advertising space. We do not adopt this method in the following analysis.

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6. Table 2 Equivalent Advertising Value generated by Hertfordshire County Council press office

Month Equivalent advertising value

August 2007 £111,128September 2007 £119,476October 2007 £119,216November 2007 £90,876

Based on these figures, the county council’s press office is generating £1,322,088 of equivalent advertising value each year. In other words, in order to generate the level of coverage for the council it would be necessary to spend £1,322,088 in advertising.

Communication with staff and partners:With over 28,000 staff working in a diverse range of jobs and physical locations, the council faces a significant challenge in ensuring that staff are kept up to date. Communication to staff has to be tailored so that it is engaging, relevant, timely and appropriate. Staff are kept informed through a range of channels about developments and initiatives in their immediate area of work, the wider organisation and beyond, and particularly changes which impact on service delivery and work styles. Publicising the council’s many achievements is also important to sustain staff moral and to promote a sense of pride in the organisation.

Developing good internal communications is a crucial part of delivering high quality services for any organisation. Staff need to be kept up to date about news and developments within the organisation. National work by MORI has suggested that this is particularly important in local government where the pace of change is often rapid (Local Government Association 2006). Staff need to be aware of what is happening so that they can relay these messages to the public.

In addition to regular newsletters, there are also specific forms of staff communication which are undertaken, these can best be illustrated by example:

ACS – a DVD for staff featuring the Director, Sarah Pickup, was produced following the publication of the White Paper ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’. It outlined the key elements of the White Paper and focused on what needed to be done in Hertfordshire to achieve the expected outcomes. This DVD was used by managers in team discussions.

CSF - has made effective use of DVDs to disseminate important messages from the Director. These DVDs are produced as part of an overall strategy to communicate key changes or major events such as ‘Growth and Change’ or the Joint Area Review, where the Director needs to communicate quickly and directly with as many staff as possible. They are produced in conjunction with

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roadshows and materials on the website and enable staff to hear information first hand.

Switch Off Campaign - last year the county council signed the Nottingham Declaration, committing it to take action on climate change. The Environment Department launched the ‘Switch Off’ campaign to encourage Members and staff to save energy and reduce the county council’s carbon dioxide emissions. A recent evaluation has shown a reduction of 9% in carbon dioxide output by County Hall alone.

There are other internal communications which support ongoing staff training and development. An example of this form of communication would be in ACS. The ten key words DVD was made in partnership with local community groups to help ACS staff learn a few key words and phrases in three widely spoken Asian languages. This was done after service users and carers said that they felt more involved and respected when workers had learnt a few words in their preferred language. The DVD is also available online on hertsdirect.org.

There has been a detailed evaluation of The We Work Programme including the effectiveness of communications with staff. This scrutiny Committee has commissioned a study of The We Work Programme and will receive a fully report on this as part of that work.

Communications staff are also responsible for the content of the council’s intranet site Connect. The news messaging service contained on the front page provides regular updates of key information for staff and Members, and is updated daily and more frequently when required e.g. in emergencies.

Analysis of the county council’s staff attitude survey undertaken in 2005 showed a high degree of success in getting key messages across to staff. 75% of staff considered that they fully understood the objectives of their section or unit.

Communications staff also help to ensure that communications with partner organisations are effective and consistent. With the increasing role played by partnerships in delivering local public services, the need for effective communication between partners is ever greater. Communications between partners need to be effective at all levels, from front-line to strategic management and through the governance structures (CLG and IDeA, 2006).

The communications teams play an important role in supporting this process by:

Working with departments to ensure that messages to partners are consistent and timely

Providing a constant stream of information to partners through the website, printed materials, conferences and seminars

Networking with communications colleagues in partner organisations In some instances providing the communications support to the

partnership (e.g. the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership)

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Communications support activitiesIn addition to the work which goes into the publications and media work detailed above, communications staff are also supporting a range of other activities which have been listed. This work is best illustrated by case-study examples. Numerous examples could be provided to evidence this diverse area of work. However, only an indicative selection of examples are given below, further illustrations can be provided for Members at the meeting if required.

Advice on statutory and other consultationsACS - Strategies to support people with physical disabilities and sensory needs for the next five years have been developed. A consultation with people with physical disabilities and sensory needs was recently carried out to find out whether they agreed that the council’s priorities detailed in the strategies were correct. The consultation also aimed to find out more about the services they currently receive, or would like to receive. The consultation was available online as a web-based questionnaire. It was also available in different formats including as a DVD (signed in British Sign Language), Braille, a paper version (for people without access to the internet) and as an audio version. Focus groups were set up to hear directly from service users and mechanisms are in place to feedback the results of the consultation, plus future plans, to people who participated.

Waste Consultation - the communications team supporting the Environment Department organised the campaign to publicise the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership’s Waste Strategy Consultation, producing all the literature. Nearly 11,000 residents responded, and the results informed the new strategy, helping the Partnership take forward some of residents’ key concerns.

Advice to Directors, elected Members and departmental boards‘Need to know’ process - all Need to Knows (reports on sensitive issues involving ACS or CSF clients) are seen by the Media Manager in order for her to evaluate the media impact of the particular issue. The Media Manager will normally alert appropriate officers to aspects of cases which could attract media interest, and will advise on the handling and response as appropriate.

The Bugle - circulation of the Bugle, the Environment Department’s weekly news update has recently been extended to all members, to keep them informed of current developments in the service. The newsletter is available in electronic format.

Supporting the council’s emergency responseThe press office is heavily involved in Hertfordshire Resilience (formerly HESMIC). Press officers take part in emergency planning exercises, working alongside colleagues from other agencies to ensure adequate preparation for major events. The Media Manager is the deputy Chair of the Hertfordshire Resilience Media Group and represents the group at both county and regional levels.

All communications professionals play a key role in dealing with major incidents. They dealt with internal and external communications during the

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Hatfield and Potters Bar rail crashes, the Buncefield Fire and the Harrow Court incident and subsequent hearing. They provide all communications for severe weather and similar incidents, to both to the general public and county council staff.

Advising on campaigns and promotionsWalk to School Week - the county council promotes this annual event to help encourage children to walk to school, improving health and reducing congestion. Last year almost 70,000 children (287 schools) took part. There was extensive national coverage of Hertfordshire’s events, including promotion on Radio 2 and the county council was featured on the national Walk to School website.

Fostering and adoption - Recruitment of people who are prepared to foster and/or adopt is crucial to the 800 children who are in our care. There is a constant demand to find suitable carers. Raising the awareness is a major challenge for the communication team which orchestrates media coverage, advertising and marketing campaigns, web information, open evenings and other events.

Health Walks - the county council has re-launched a scheme to encourage more people to take part in organised walks to help promote mental and physical wellbeing as part of Countryside Management Service’s commitment to promote the enjoyment of Hertfordshire’s countryside.

Tea light campaign – an awareness raising campaign of the dangers of tea lights and encouraging people to use them with adequate holders following the findings of the inquiry into the causes of the fire at Harrow Court.

Managing events, conferences and exhibitionsACS – ‘Shifting the balance’ conference, an event for ACS Senior Managers and key stakeholders within social care including the voluntary sector, focussing on the Government White Paper ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’

Herts Forward Conference - the county wide local strategic partnership, Herts Forward has an annual conference. Communications staff help organise and promote the event to key stakeholders in the LSP and arrange the key note speakers.

Supporting the delivery of web-based informationACS - electronic forms are a simple way to get in touch with Adult Care Services 24 hours a day. People can ask for help for themselves or for someone else. Help can include registering as disabled, ordering equipment, requesting care or asking for copies of leaflets. Online care forms are looked at during the normal office opening hours of Client Services at the Customer Service Centre.

CSF – Hertfordshire has led the way with online school admissions thanks to concerted marketing effort over the past few years. The council achieved 58% take-up for admissions to the 2006-2007 school year and has created the blueprint for other local authorities. Continued marketing is essential to

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maintain this success which brings both efficiency savings and cudos to the council.

Climate Change website - in November the county council launched new web pages to support the council’s commitment to tackling climate change and to advise and encourage members of the public and staff to tackle climate change in their everyday lives. It provided simple, understandable information on the key issues. So far the website has received over 1000 hits.

Developing and advising on the use of the council’s brand and identityThe marketing function within communications has overall responsibility for management of the council’s visual identity – the physical expression of the Hertfordshire County Council brand, this includes the council’s logo.

The marketing team works closely with all council departments, partners and designers (in-house and external) to ensure the correct application of the visual identity. They also promote a consistent customer experience across all media, and ensure that printed publications, online and digital media, vehicle livery and signage have a consistent visual appearance following the council’s design standard.

Developing the communications capability and capacity of staff within the organisationMedia training for key highways staff - highways staff are regularly invited to talk on local radio about key highways issues. Staff unfamiliar with this can be nervous. The communications team based in Environment organise media training for key members of staff to support them in this process.

Communications advice for schoolsThe press office provides media handling advice for all of the county’s 525 schools, helping heads to deal with issues from the death of a pupil to the arrest of pupils on site or child protection issues. In the majority of cases all media calls are diverted to the press office and, in more extreme cases, where there is a high level of national and local media interest, press officers will work from the school to help with media handling. The press office deals with around 400 calls for help from schools each year.

7. The changing nature of communications

The nature of communications has changed rapidly in the last decade. The more widespread availability and use of new technologies including mobile phones (not just for voice telephone, but also for text message services and more recently with web-based services), the growth in access to and use of the internet, and the growing sophistication of direct marketing and sales techniques has increased public expectation and demand. In the same way that video and DVD have not reduced theatre and cinema going, so new communications such as internet and interactive telephone-based voice services have not removed the demand for printed and written forms of communication. Direct face-to-face dealing with the public remains very important for many of the council’s services. Internal communications play a very important part in supporting staff who deal directly with the public.

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Although there has been some reduction in visits to council premises due to the uses of other technologies such as telephone and internet, a very significant proportion of county council services will always require an element of direct contact, and this is likely to be the case particularly for vulnerable people. It is for this reason that there will continue to be a demand for communications support for face-to-face customer interaction and for communications with the public in written (or printed) form.

The challenge for communications professionals in both the private and public sectors has been that the development of new technologies has not reduced the need to continue to service more traditional forms of communication, particularly with customers. Indeed, it can be argued that new communications channels have actually generated additional demand for more traditional communications mechanisms because they create greater customer awareness and understanding and therefore greater expectation and demand. Further, new communications media are dynamic and require constant maintenance. The county council has seen very significant growth in the level of usage of its public website hertsdirect.org over recent years (Appendix 2 contains some usage figures which evidence this trend). The website is updated constantly and communications and IT staff are involved in daily tasks to maintain this communication channel which is growing it its importance and usage. This creates a level of workload far greater than that required to maintain more traditional forms of communications such as information leaflets.

Private sector companies continue to send publicity to customers as a way of raising awareness and encouraging take-up of services. In the same way, local government needs to continue to inform customers through printed materials about electronic services, for example fault reporting or library book renewal. In summary, more traditional communications mechanisms are often needed to signpost to newer electronic communications and servicing facilities.

Hertfordshire County Council has gone a long way to seeking to minimise paper-based transactions and move towards more efficient and lower cost telephone and internet-based servicing. However, this report has shown that the growth of the internet and other forms of new technology have placed additional demand upon the council’s communications resources, and communications staff are now servicing these new media in addition to the traditional communications channels. It has also been shown that, in part by their nature, these new media generate an expectation that communications messages are updated with far greater frequency than for traditional media. Typically printed forms of communication such as leaflets are updated on an annual cycle, whereas information on hertsdirect.org (the council’s website) and Connect (the intranet) require updating daily.

Those, such as the BBC, who are generally regarded to set the standard in the use of new communication technologies, are now making widespread use of podcasts, webcasts and other forms of distributing radio and TV broadcast materials over the internet. This trend is being reinforced by the increasing use and take-up of so-called ‘social media’ which are enabling large numbers

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of people to communicate with others with relatively low level but widely available technology such as mobile phones and home PC webcams. Services such as MySpace and YouTube are beginning to form part of the mainstream of communications. Members will recall that the Queen’s Christmas message this year was broadcast not only of radio and television but also on YouTube. These developments are creating increasing public expectation about how people want to receive and send information.

8. Area for potential future saving

Communications is a support function to the council’s frontline services. Savings could be made by reducing volumes (i.e. ceasing to do things which are currently provided), reducing quality, or by finding different ways of doing things.

Reducing volumesIn order to make any appreciable savings by reducing volumes it would be necessary for Members to identify a reduction in the major publicity spend lines. In doing this, Members would need to be mindful of the consequences of ceasing to provide information to the public or to staff. In the case of information to the public, some of this activity is statutory and there is a requirement for the council to provide particular pieces of information to the public in an accessible manner. Whilst a significant proportion is discretionary, there may be a detrimental impact on the service and the customer satisfaction with that service if particular publications are withdrawn. Further, Members would need to consider the potential for adverse public reaction should certain publications simply cease without that information being provided in another way.

In the case of information provided to staff, Members should be aware of the potential impact on staff morale, productivity and effectiveness which would result from large scale reductions in the overall level of investment in internal communications. Members will have the opportunity to question senior managers from across the council’s services during the scrutiny hearing. These managers will be able to provide specific examples confirming the role which internal communications play in supporting efficient and effective management of the organisation.

It would be possible to scale-back the level of communications support to services. Such changes would have a direct impact on the services and activities which they support. Members will have the opportunity to explore with senior service managers the wider roles which communications plays in supporting other aspects of the council’s service delivery in areas such as public consultation, the council’s emergency response, and specific service initiatives such as fire safety and promoting healthy living. Many of these activities directly support the council’s Challenges set out in the corporate plan, and therefore reduction in these activities could be detrimental to the delivery of these objectives.

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Reducing qualityIt would be possible for the council to reduce the number of communications professionals as a way of saving money, however, this would have a negative impact on the quality of materials which are received by the public, Members and staff. Members have received consistent advice over a number of years from nationally recognised experts in the field, of the importance of having materials which are clearly written, presented in an accessible format and carrying the council’s logo and visual identity. A reduction in quality of materials could have significant consequences in terms of opening the council to challenges over the accessibility of its services. Above all, public information materials provide a vital link between the council and the citizen as service user, and this reinforces the democratic link between elected Members and the people whom they serve. The Local Government Association’s reputation campaign has been promoting the type of good practice in communications for which Hertfordshire County Council and others have gained a national reputation. It has already been noted that Hertfordshire’s approach to communications is in line with the good practice promoted by the Department for Communities and Local Government and IDeA (CLG and IDeA 2006).

Changing methods of workingThere are ways in which the county council could potentially reduce its expenditure on communications by moving some of its publications to new methods of delivery, particularly electronic. The county council has already made good headway in the development of online services. In certain circumstances this has enabled it to reduce or even cease the production of paper-based publications, leading to an overall reduction in the cost of delivering the service. Examples of where this has been achieved include staff newsletters such as ACS eBriefing and Corporate Services’ ‘Encore’ staff newsletter. A similar exercise is currently in hand with a number of the CSF internal newsletters being transferred to electronic rather than paper-based distribution. ACS has also produced its ACS Plan 2006-2009 online, printing only a poster summary. In 2007 ACS also published its local charter for long term care, ‘Who Cares? … We Do’ online rather than printing it as in previous years. However, care needs to be taken to ensure that effective communication is maintained with those (both public and staff) who do not have access to IT facilities by alternative communications mechanisms.

The impact of changing methods of workingMembers need to be aware that there may be operational reasons why certain publications need to be available in paper format. Moves towards online servicing should take account of the need to ensure that the council’s services are accessible to all, and are sensitive to the needs of minority and hard to reach groups in the community. However, provided that changes were carefully evaluated before implementation and implemented with sensitivity, there is no reason to consider that it should not be possible for the council to achieve a level of saving by further reducing the volumes of paper-based publications. Further work would be required to assess the exact level of efficiency which might be achieved and over what period of time.

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Additional benefits of changing methods of workingMeasures to reduce the amount of paper-based publications would support the council’s commitment to sustainability in signing the Nottingham Declaration and would also be consistent to the council’s own principals of using technology to improve efficiency through The Way We Work Programme. It would also directly support the objective the council’s Challenge to improve efficiency.

9. Conclusions

This report has demonstrated that Hertfordshire County Council spends less per head of population on publicity that most county councils in the Eastern and South East regions of England. Hertfordshire spends £1.54 per head of population on publicity compared to an average for counties in the two regions of £2.02. The report has shown that, when compared with all councils in England and Wales, Hertfordshire County Council spends below the average for councils of its size.

The report has shown that the level of communications staffing in Hertfordshire County Council is slightly lower than comparator county councils of a similar size in the Eastern and South East regions.

The report has demonstrated that change in the net budget for the communications function within Hertfordshire County Council over the last three financial years, 2005/06 to 2007/08, has been only at the level of inflation.

The report has given a detailed account of the role which the council’s communication function plays in its four key areas of activity:

i) Communication with the publicii) Communication through the mediaiii) Communication with staff and partnersiv) Communication support activities

It has provided evidence of the extent and range of tasks which go into supporting each of these activities. The report has demonstrated that the currently level of expenditure on the communications function is required to support these activities and that these represent value for money, with consistently high outcome and performance measures.

The report has set out some options for areas where savings could be made in the council’s expenditure on communications and publicity, and has recommended that this should be by continuing the trend to move publicity from printed materials to electronic formats where this is practical for the recipient. The report has cautioned against a reduction in volume or quality of information which the council provides to the public and staff, as it is considered that this would have a detrimental impact disproportionate to the amount of money which would be saved. This statement is made particularly in the context of an overall level of spend on communications by the county council which is lower than that for comparative councils.

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Reference materials supporting this reportCommunities and Local Government and IDeA (2006) ‘Connecting with communities: the business case for communications’

Communities and Local Government (2006) ‘Perceptions of local government in England: key findings from qualitative research’

Local Government Association (2006) ‘The business case for the Reputation Project’

The Taxpayers’ Alliance (2007) ‘Council spending uncovered : No 1 publicity’

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Appendix 1 – Tables of publications

Regular publications for Ault Care Services

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost Originating unit Purpose of publication and comments

Leaflets Carers (6 leaflets in the set)

exampleAdvice for carers

Public, partners and staff

As required

5,000 Dec 2007

Leaflet , web text and .pdf format on web

£1,943(12 pages)

Communications with lead officer for Carers

To provide accessible information to carers on all aspects of social care and their own access to benefits

Distribution for each new issue and then responding to orders

Leaflets : Employment for people with disabilities(4 leaflets in the set)

exampleWork Solutions suite of four leaflets


As required

12,500 since April 2007

Leaflet, web text and .pdf format on web

£788 for one of the four leaflets (8 pages)

Communications with lead officer for Work Solutions

To provide accessible information to people with disabilities, employers and mentors on how Work Solutions can provide assistance and support

Leaflets : Public, Leaflet, Communications To provide accessible information to

17

General Information for Adults (11 leaflets in the set)

example Coping with shock and distress

partners and staff

5,000

web text and .pdf format on web

with relevant lead officer

adults in need of advice in hospital, provide information about resources and emergency situations.


Leaflet:Joint leaflets with other organisations

Public, partners, professionals and staff

As required Leaflet, web text and .pdf format on web

Part funded by ACS and part funded by partners depending on publication

Varies depending on publication

To provide accessible information to adults about joint initiatives for example multi-agency assessment and adult protection.


Leaflets : Older people(2 leaflets in the set)

(No new issues in 2007)


As required Leaflet, web text and .pdf format on web

Communications with relevant lead officer

To provide accessible information to older people on the services available to them


18

Leaflets :Paying for services (3 leaflets in the set)

exampleWill I have to pay?

Public, partners and staff, partners and staff

Annual

20,000 since April 2007


£5,572(16 pages)

ACS Communications and Finance

To provide accessible information to service users and carers on costs and charges for services


Leaflets: Standards (7 leaflets in the set)

example Have your say


As required

10,000 Jun 2007


£2,509(16 pages)

Funded by Complaints and Client relations and ACS

ACS Communications

To provide accessible information to all on ACS standards and access policies


Leaflets: Staying independent (7 leaflets in the set)

example Telecare


As required

2,000 October


£502(6 page DL

ACS Communications and Commissioning Manager-Telecare

To provide accessible information to people with a disability and their carers on home care, adaptations and equipment for their own homes and suitable housing schemes.


19

2007(new leaflet)

leaflet)

Leaflets: Supporting People (housing-related support)

(2 leaflets in the set)

example Supporting PeopleHelping you to live more independently


As required

10,000 Sep 2007(new leaflet)


£2,390(12 pages)

ACS Communications with Lead Officer Supporting People

To provide accessible information to service users and carers on all aspects of supported independent living


ACS plan All staff annual Summary available in print and web formats. Full plan, web only

ACS Distribution for each new issue and then responding to orders

ACS structure chart ‘who’s who’

All staff 3 times a year if required

Print and web

ACS Distribution for each new issue

eBriefing Staff (1900 in department)

monthly Web-based e-magazine 200 printed

ACS Distribution for each new issue

special eBriefing Staff (1900 As required Web-based ACS Distribution for each new issue

20

in department)

(3 in 2007) e-magazine200 printed

Policies & procedures (some)


As required Web Team policy writers

Exhibition and noticeboards


As required Print and display

ACS To inform audiences about initiatives, service and developments

Projects: example Supporting People

Public, partners and staff, partners and staff

As required Example leaflet, poster, strategy, including an Easy Read Guide and Web pages

Funded by ACS & Supporting People team

ACS and Supporting People team

Different communications materials to help inform people about Supporting People

21

Regular publications for Corporate Services

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost Originating unit NotesHertfordshire Horizons

Public 3 times per annum

Magazine Communications Distributed to all households in the county and available in county council service points

Telephone and directory listings

Public Annual Inserts into directories

Communications

Council tax leaflet

Public Annual Leaflet £7,705 Finance Distributed to all households in the County with council tax billsStatutory requirement

Budget book Public and budget managers

Annual Publication £2,900 Finance Is available in Hertfordshire libraries and on the council’s website. Copies available on request

Annual statement of accounts

Public Annual Publication £1,600 Finance Is available in Hertfordshire libraries and on the council’s website. Copy sent to all county councillors. Copies available on request. The publication is a statutory requirement

Corporate plan Public staff & Audit Commission

Periodic with annual update

Publication £12,000 if full revision

Chief Executives Is available in Hertfordshire libraries and on the council’s website. Copy sent to all county councillors. Copies available on request. The publication of PI results is a

22

statutory requirementTrading standards ‘Doorstoppers awareness campaign

Public One-off campaign

Various publicity and information materials

£2,000 Trading Standards

Campaign to promote awareness and advise public about doorstep callers

How to Register a Birth

Public Ongoing Leaflets £4,000 Statutory services

Directory advertising of registration service

Public Annual Magazine funded by advertising

Statutory services

The service’s flagship brochure

Statutory notices venue licensing

Public Ongoing Public notice £7,000 this cost is recovered in fees charged

Statutory services

23

Regular publications for Children, Schools & Families

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost

Funded by Originating unit

Purpose of publication and comments

CSF News CSF Staff 6 times a year

16 – 24 page 2 colour hard copy

Currently £1500 per issue soon to be @ £600

CSF Comms

CSF Comms

Internal staff newsletter – update on policy, practise and to share interesting case studies

Inform School staff

5 times a year (Sept, Nov, Jan, Mar, May/June)

24 page 2 colour hard copy

£2,000 per issue approx

CSF Comms

CSF Comms

To provide information to schools and share achievements and good news stories.

5 x starting school leaflets Parents of children who are starting school

Annual Set of 5 A5 leaflets hard copy

£6200 design and print for 15,000 £1200 collation

CSF Comms

CSF Comms

To provide information to parents on the subjects of:-Financial help for parents-Listening to your comments, compliments and complaints-Attending school regularly-Children’s behaviour at school-Special educational needs

Schools Bulletin Schools Weekly Electronic & some printed copies

£24,000 per year

CSF Comms

CSF Comms

The main source of county council information for schools

One Stop e-newsletter Hertfordshire Children’s Centre’s

Monthly e-newsletter

£293 per issue

ICS 0-13 ICS 0-13 To inform CCs of the latest news in Hertfordshire relating to them and their services

Working for you and your Public Annual A5 leaflet Approx CSF CSF To provide general

24





child Hard copy £2800 design and print for 20,000 copies

Comms Comms information about CSF.

Young in Herts News Providers of Childcare in Hertfordshire

3 x a year (termly)

A4, full colour, 20pp

Roughly £1500 each time (incl d, p & mailing)

Young in Herts (Sure Start)

ICS 0-13 To inform the sector of the updates and changes regarding childcare in Herts & nationally

Children’s Partnership News

HCTP – all those working with Children and Young People in Hertfordshire

4 x a year A4, full colour, usually 20-30pp

£3100 HCTP CSF Communications

To communicate latest initiatives from Herts & nationally, incl changes. Key format for communicating to/with all partners

Annual admissions publications (booklets, posters, leaflets)

Public yearly Booklets, leaflets, posters, bookmark

@ £55k Admissions & Transport

Admissions & Transport

Applying for school places

Building schools for the Future Newsletter & ebulletin

Public, schools & BSF stakehold

termly Newsletter £1200(no cost for ebulletin)

BSF CSF Comms

Inform & engage schools & stakeholder on BSF programme

25





ersIntegrated Practice Bulletin HCTP

partners & key stakeholders

Every 4 – 6 weeks

Electronic newsletter

No cost n/a CSF Comms

To provide updates on implementation of the integrated practice agenda (CAF, lead professional, Contact point, ICS & eCAF)

Fostering, adoption & shared care newsletter

Foster carers, adopters & shared carers

Twice a year

Newsletter £1192 Fostering/shared care team

Fostering/ shared care team

To provide support, information & positive stories to families

Adoption newsletter Adopters Twice a year

Newsletter £1400 Adoption team

Adoption team

To provide support, information & positive stories to families

CAF/ lead professional for children’s workforce

HCTP partners / children’s workforce

As required - created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £995 Integrated process team

Integrated process team

To guide staff on CAF & lead professional procedures

Respite care leaflet Public As required - created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £3450 Social care Social care Information for parents/carers

3 x safeguarding children leaflets

Public As required - created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £3330 HSCB HSCB Information for parents, families and the wider community about child protection

Guidance for early years settings (2 leaflets)

Early years providers

As required - created or last updated

Leaflet £1000 Pre-school advisory team

Pre-school advisory team

Information, support & guidance

26





06/07Personal Safety CSF staff As required

- created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £727.00 Social care policy and practice

Social care policy and practice


Understanding assessments – information for children and young people

Children & young people


Leaflet £2077 Social care policy and practice

Social care policy and practice


Reasons why you may like to speak to a counsellor / art therapist

Children & young people


Leaflet £275.00 Social care – policy and practice

Social care – policy and practice


Are you worried about your child’s behaviour? Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities

Parents As required - created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £668.00 Counselling Counselling Information, support & guidance

Pre-school and Nursery for two, three and four-year-olds


Leaflet £3161.00 Integrated children’s services

Integrated children’s services


Shared care – information for parents


Leaflet £646.00 Integrated children’s services



Private fostering - Do you know someone under 16 who is living away from

Public As required - created or last updated

Leaflet £703.00 Social care Social care Information & awareness raising

27





their parents? 06/07Have Your Say Public As required

- created or last updated 06/07

Leaflet £3286.00 Customer Focus

Customer Focus


Parent partnership leaflets (x7)

Parents & carers


Leaflet £3550.00 Customer Focus

Customer Focus


Support and Information for parents and carers in Hertfordshire (Young in Herts)

Parents & carers


Leaflet £2012 Integrated children’s services


HAND leaflet & form Parents with children with disabilities


Leaflet £977 Social care Social care Information, support & guidance

The Incredible Years Parenting Programme


£366 CSF Comms

CSF Comms


What is a children’s centre? / What is an extended school?

Parents, staff & early years providers


Flyer £1457.00 Integrated children’s services



Directors Annual Report – social care for children and

Public, staff,

Annual last updated Oct

A4 book Quantity 3000 D&P

Directors office

Directors office

Summary of the year’s achievements and

28





young people stakeholders and partners

07 cost £5237

challenges

Children and young peoples plan (original plus one year on updates),

Public, partners, stakeholders and staff

Updated annually

A4 booklet HCTP Planning & improvement team

To provide partners & stakeholders with a summary of our key work and achievements.

Adoption support leaflets (x7)

Adoptive families

As required, last updated June 05

Leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies

Fostering and adoption


Information

Adult and Family Learning service disability statement

Providers As required Last updated March 05

Leaflet Quantity 3000D&P cost £2271

Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service (HAFLS)

Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service (HAFLS)

Information

Set of 7 x parent partnership leaflets

Parents of children with disabilities

Annually updated – last updated Feb 07

Leaflets Quantity 5000 of each, D&P cost £3550

Parent Partnership

Parent Partnership

Information

Parent partnership flyers x 2

Parents of children with

Annually updated Last

Flyer Parent Partnership

Parent Partnership

Information

29





disabilities updated Aug 07

BME Young Carers Report & Young carers version

Public and professionals working with young carers

As required – created Nov 07

A4 booklet £4381 Cares Grant – Young Carers budget

Policy & Practice team

Feedback report of pilot project

Customer Focus guidance for parents relating to admissions appeals, exclusions & bullying

Parents Annual A4 printed booklets

Variable Customer Focus Team

Customer Focus Team

Information & support for parents & cares on their rights and appeals processes

College? School Sixth Form? What next – choices and travel info

Young people

As required Leaflet Unknown Unknown Herts 16-19 transport partnership

Information

Set of 4x coping with crises in schools

School staff

As required Last updated Dec 2000

Leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies

CSF Health and Safety Team

CSF Health and Safety Team

Information

Family learning Public As required Last updated Jan 06

Leaflet Quantity 1000 D&P cost £485

HAFLS HAFLS Information

Family Learning Strategy Partners and providers

Every 3 years, Last updated Aug 06

A4 Booklet

Quantity 3500, D&P cost £8332


30





Family Support Services in Hertfordshire (x6)

Public, staff

As required Leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies

Corporate parenting

Corporate parenting

Information

Fostering, adoption, shared care

Public, staff

As required Last updated Mar 05

Leaflet Quantity 5000, D&P cost £934



Information

HAFLS Curriculum Statement

Partners and providers

As required Last updated Aug 07

A5 leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies


HAFLS Inclusion and participation strategy

Partners and providers

As required Last updated Jan 07

A4 booklet Quantity 200, D&P cost £490


Hertfordshire County Youth Music groups

Public Annual Last updated Feb 07

Leaflet Hertfordshire music Service

Hertfordshire Music Service

Information

Hertfordshire Children’s Information service

Public As required Last updated Jan 07

Leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies

Sure Start Young in Herts

Information

Hertfordshire’s emergency social care service for adults and children at risk

Professionals only

As required Last updated Sept 04

Leaflet Quantity 1000 D&P cost £602

Emergency Duty Team

Emergency Duty Team

Information

I am worried about my child – who can help me?

Parents and carers

As required leaflet Quantity 10,000

Parent Partnership

Parent Partnership

Information

31





D&P cost £1671

Information for parents and carers of about pre School SEN advisory teachers & other services (leaflet series)

Parents and carers

As required Last updated Dec 04

Leaflet Quantity 1000 D&P costs £469

Educational psychologists and advisory team

Educational psychologists and advisory team

Information

Living in care C&YP in care

One off Leaflet Photocopied only

Participation team

Participation team

Information

Make a difference to a child’s life

Public As required Last updated March 05




Information

Leaflets relating to teenage pregnancy strategies

C&YP As required Last updated July 07

Booklet @ £500 - £700 / 1000 copies

Herts Teenage Pregnancy strategy

Teenage pregnancy

Information

Shared care (series of leaflets)

Shared carers

As required Last updated Mar 07


Family placement Service

Family Placement service

Information

Set of 2 - Sometimes its tough being a teenager/what to do if you want to complain

C&YP As required Leaflet Quantity 1500 D&P cost £942

CAU Conciliation and appeals unit

Information

Tax credits and benefits when you adopt a child

Adoptive families

As required Last updated Apr 05

A4 booklet Quantity 500 D&P cost £455

Adoption team/MAU

Adoption team/MAU

Information

32





Working with looked after or adopted children in school

School staff, parents, carers

As required last updated Aug 07

Leaflet @ £500 - £700 / 1000

Corporate parenting

Corporate parenting

Information

Financial services for schools – regular bulletins, approx 1-2 per month

Schools Led by school calendar

Word document

Unknown Financial services for schools

Financial services for schools

Information and instruction to schools about financial services procedures

33

Regular publications for Environment

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost Unit Purpose of publication and comments

Walks and More

Public Six-monthly

Hard copy £10,000 p.a. EMG Information on countryside walks and other events.

Vehicle access across pavements and verges – application leaflet

Public As and when needed

Hard copy c. £1,100 p.a.

Herts Highways Not generally available – sent out on request

7 Area Travel Guides

Public Once or twice a year

Hard copy £150,000 p.a.

PTU Timetable and journey planning information for each of seven areas. Produced for Intalink. We have a statutory duty to provide this information.

IntaChange magazine

Public Bi-monthly Hard copy £15,000 p.a. PTU Magazine to encourage bus use and provide information on service changes. Produced for Intalink

Bus timetables Public Around 15 updated each year

Hard copy £5,000 p.a. PTU Produced for Intalink. We have a statutory duty to provide this information.

6 parish travel guides

Public Annual Hard copy £5,000 p.a. PTU Produced with the Community Development Agency

Hertfordshire Biker

Public Annual Hard copy £5,000 p.a. Road Safety Joint publication with Camera Partnership and Police

34

Road Safety Early Years school newsletter

Public 2-3 times a year

Both £600 p.a. Road Safety

Road Safety Primary School newsletter

Public 2-3 times a year

Both £1,000 p.a. Road Safety

Road Safety Secondary School newsletter

Public Six-monthly

Both £1,000 p.a. Road Safety

Bus behaviour packs


Hard copy £300 p.a. Road Safety Packs to encourage children to behave on school buses. Includes a DVD.

Planning application leaflet


Hard copy c. £1,000 p.a.

CDU How the process works and how to make your views known

13 general leaflets

Public Last printed 2003

Hard copy £6,000 for 2,000 of each leaflet

Communications General information on the department’s work and services

80+ Countryside Management Service walk/site leaflets


Hard copy See note CMS Leaflets are paid for by the Countryside Management Service, which is jointly funded by HCC and the districts. It is not possible to establish how much HCC money is spent on each publication as our involvement varies from leaflet to leaflet.

Rights of Way Public Last Hard copy £6000 Rights of Way Six leaflets informing users, and

35

leaflets printed 2005

land owners, of their rights and responsibilities. Currently under review.

20 Household Waste Recycling Centre materials leaflets


Hard copy Waste Management

Explain what materials HWRCs accept and what happens to them

CMS News Public 3 times a year

Hard copy £3,600 p.a. CMS Newsletter for CMS volunteers and stakeholders

Aldenham Country Park leaflet


Hard copy No information available

EMG Advertising ACP

Keeping your child safe and healthy



Road Safety Road safety leaflet on journeys to school

How well can you see?



Road Safety Road safety leaflet

Could you stop in time?



Road Safety Road safety leaflet

WasteAware publications


Both See note Waste Management

Leaflets are paid for by WasteAware, which is jointly funded by HCC and the districts. It is not possible to establish how much HCC money is spent on each publication as our involvement

36

varies from leaflet to leaflet.Quality of Life Report

Public Annual Both None Forward planning Produced on behalf of, and paid for by, Hertfordshire Environmental Forum.

Traffic and Transport Data report

Public Annual Hard copy £4,000 p.a. TP&P Information on traffic flows and volumes in Hertfordshire.

LTP bulletin Public Quarterly Electronic £40 p.a. TP&P Newsletter for stakeholders and the public

LTP delivery report

Public Annual Hard copy £3,708 TP&P 500 copies printed

Safety Camera Partnership annual report

Public Annual Electronic None Road Safety

Complaints annual report

Public and staff

Annual Electronic None Communications Data on number and types of complaints received.

Environment News

Staff Monthly Electronic None Communications Newsletter for Environment staff

Highways News

Staff Quarterly Hard copy £5,000 p.a. Communications Newsletter for all Herts Highways

The Inside Track

Staff Monthly Electronic £70 p.a. (there was a £3000 set up fee this year)

Communications Bulletin for all Herts Highways staff

The Bugle Staff Weekly Electronic None Communications Briefing for membersEnvironment budget book

Staff Annual Hard copy £350 p.a. Finance Information on business unit budget allocations.

School Crossing Patrol

Staff Hard copy £346 Road Safety

37

induction packsSchool Crossing Patrol Newsletter

Staff Annual Hard copy £396 p.a. Road Safety

Herts Forward/LAA newsletters

Staff Bi-monthly Electronic £200 p.a. Strategic partnerships

Produced in conjunction with partner agencies

38

Regular publications for Fire and Rescue

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost Unit Purpose of publication and comments

Action Against Arson

Public ongoing Hard copy £800 Arson Task Force

Mixture of leaflets/posters/flyers for shops/schools/parents

After the Incident Public ongoing Hard copy Booklet: post incident advice/guidance

Arson Awareness Public ongoing Hard copy £300 Arson Task Force

Variety of leaflets/posters/exhibition materials/ annual road shows

Baby Safe Public ongoing Hard copy £30 Station initiative Health visitors/Child carersBBQ Safety Public summer Hard copy £500 Community

SafetyBBQ Safety literature

Business Safe Public ongoing Hard copy £300 Community Safety

Business/commercial property aimed at reducing arson

Canal Safety Public summer Hard copy £200 Station Initiative Boat/waterways safety Candle Safety Public ongoing Hard copy £900 Community

SafetyProduced multi languages/ also specific for Chanukah safety

Caring Together Public ongoing Hard copy £900 Community Safety

Posters/large print booklet aimed at the elderly

Children’s Activity books

Public ongoing Hard copy £3000 Community Safety

Colouring/activity book aimed at young children-fire safety msgs

Christmas campaign/Festival Fire Safety

Public Annually Hard copy £2000 Community Safety

Christmas cards/posters/newspaper wrap – 12 days of Christmas theme

Promotional Give Aways

Public Ongoing Hard copy £5750 Community Safety

Pens, fluffy bugs, balloons, carrier bags

39

Commercial Training

Public ongoing Hard copy Recovered through income generation

Commercial Training

Brochures/pricelists/exhibition materials

Community Safety Plan/Integrated Risk Management Plan

Staff/Public Hard copy and electronic

£1000 Strategic Board

Crucial Crew Public ongoing Hard copy £1000 Community Safety

Flyers/activity books aimed at school children on all aspects of safety in home etc

Environmental Action days


Leaflets explaining activity that occurs

Firesetters Public ongoing Hard copy £350 Community Safety

Leaflets – Programme aimed at 3 -19yrs

Health and Safety materials

Staff ongoing Hard copy £1400 Health and Safety

Mouse mats/booklets/posters

Health and Safety newsletter

Staff monthly Hard copy and electronic

£500 Health and safety

Staff newsletter

Home Fire Safety Check


Mixture of posters/booklets/flyers/bookmarks/Drop boxes/reply cards/multi language materials

monthly Hard copy £1500 Staff Staff newsletter

40

In Focus Staff and electronic

Communications

Emergency vehicle access

Public ongoing Hard copy £650 Station initiative Windscreen flyer on dangers of inconsiderate parking etc

Information packs Public ongoing Hard copy £2000 Various Recruitment info packs/pass out packs various

Pavilion Safe Public ongoing Hard copy £50 Station Initiative Aimed at preventing arsonPortable promotional materials

Public ongoing Exhibition stands/banners

£2000 Community Safety

Various portable exhibition stands/banners and information points

Positive Action Public Twice yearly

Hard copies

£5500 Equality/Diversity Raising awareness of a career in the fire service to under represented groups. Posters/flyers/exhibition materials

Retired Members Newsletter

Public monthly Hard copies

£450 Newsletter to all retired members of staff

Road safety/drink driving/mobile phone

Public ongoing Hard copies

£3500 Community Safety/Station Initiatives

Beer mats/stickers/Christmas cards

School Safe Public ongoing Hard copies


Checklist arson prevention in schools

Thatch property fire safety



Booklet on fire safety in thatched properties

The Heat is on Staff summer Hard copies

£250 Health and safety

Aimed at firefighters safety during hot weather

Vehicle graphic’s safety messages

Public ongoing Vehicle livery

£10,000 Community Safety/Strategic board

Includes variety of key safety messages on variety of vehicles, fire appliances and fire safety information unit

41

Winter safety campaign


£400 Community safety

Posters and flyers – targeted winter safety campaign

Youth engagement



Youth engagement scheme

Health and Safety Calender

Staff/Public Annual Hard Copy

£1200 Health and Safety

42

Regular publications for Culture Library Culture and Learning

Title Audience Frequency Format Direct Cost Originating unit

Notes

What’s new @ Herts Libraries

Public Monthly Electronic Approx £100 pa for web site

Library Service E newsletter for library service users providing news and reviews on the latest books and services available

Central Resources Leaflet

Public As required Hard copy An average cost for all these leaflets = approx £400 per 10,000

Library Service Leaflet for library service users. Approx 20,000 distributed pa

Business Information

Public As required Hard copy Library Service Leaflet for library service users. Approx 3,000 distributed pa

Guide for people with visual impairment

Public As required Hard copy Library Service Leaflet for library service users.

Cassettes for the Blind


Home Library Service


Performing Arts


Services for Teenagers


Gay and Public As required Hard copy Library Service Leaflet for library service

43

Lesbian booklist

users.

Opening hours leaflets (compiled by district)

Public As required Hard copy Library Service Leaflet for library service users. Approx distributed 200,000 pa

Library charges and concessions


Information contained in the all of the Library Service leaflets listed above is also available on HertsConnect. It appears electronically in a different format to allow for different approaches to seeking information and the use of screen magnification software


Notes

Hidden Talent Public Last printed 2005

Hard Copy Funding from Heritage Lottery fund

Hertfordshire Archives and Local studies

A guide to Hertfordshire’s estate collections – sent out on request

General leaflet Public Updated as required

Hard copy Hertfordshire Archives and Local studies

Leaflet about the services HALS offers

Charges for Services

Public Annual Hard Copy / Electronic


Programme of Events

Public Annual Hard Copy / Electronic


Leaflet about HALS courses and open days

Hidden Public Hard copy Funding Hertfordshire Postcard advertising the

44

Histories : postcard

from Heritage Lottery fund

Archives and Local studies

project. Joint partnership working HALS, Libraries, Museums, MECSS, Arts, Tourism and Theatre Is

Hidden Histories : Newsletter

Public Quarterly until end of project in April 2008

Hard copy / Electronic

Funding from Heritage Lottery fund


Joint partnership working HALS, Libraries, Museums, MECSS, Arts, Tourism and Theatre Is


Notes

Schools Library Service Newsletter

Teachers and school staff

Termly(600 copies)

Hard copy Approximately £600 per issue:£1800 per annum

Schools Library Service

Information and articles on that promote libraries, books and reading for school staff

Training Programme sheet


Termly(700 copies)

Hard copy £210 per annum


Information sheet giving information about training events at SLS

Library Coordinator’s Calendar


Termly(500 copies)

Hard copy £330 per annum


Termly sheet to help School Library co-ordinators plan their library provision and events

Flyers for individual events at SLS


Approximately 10 different A4 leaflets per term(600 copies of each)

Hard copy Approximately £300 per annum + £750 set up costs for bespoke paper


Information leaflets highlighting particular events or aspects the Schools Library Service

45

Annual Report Public and staff

Annual Hard copy and electronic

£3829 Libraries Heritage and Arts

Directors report

Total Collection Management News

Staff Bi-monthly Hard copy and electronic

Approx £300 pa

Library service Newsletter for staff providing essential updates on library stock and catalogue information

Libraries Culture and learning Bulletin

Staff Fortnightly electronic Libraries Culture and Learning

Newsletter for LCL staff

Inspiring Learning newsletter

Staff Three times a year

electronic Libraries Culture and Learning

Newsletter for staff providing updates on lifelong learning developments in Hertfordshire

Bookstart Newsletter

Staff and partners

Up to twice yearly

Hard copy and electronic

Approx £50 pa

Libraries Culture and Learning

Newsletter for staff and external partners on developments in Bookstart scheme

46

Documents

€¦ · Web viewThe more widespread availability and use of new technologies including mobile phones (not just for voice telephone, but also for text message services and more