Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Executive attached.

Decision made (Unanimously)

That:

1.    Cabinet endorses the production of one FORWARD newspaper in October 2018 and the production of a newsletter for each My Neighbourhood forum produced in November detailing Christmas events in each area with funding made available from the corporate communications budget.

2.    Cabinet approve a delivery method of the October edition of FORWARD via Royal Mail delivery.

3.    Cabinet approve the re-establishment of the communicating with residents and businesses cross party Member Working Group to review the way the Council should communicate with residents and businesses in the Borough in the future.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive that provided detail on how the Council will communicate with residents and businesses in the Borough. The previous report considered by Cabinet in September had been called in and had been considered further by Scrutiny Committee. Following recommendations made by Scrutiny the report had been amended to take into consideration local government guidance on the frequency of publications. Future communication methods would be consulted upon and recommended by a cross party working group.

In response to a question from Councillor Bennet it was explained that the publication of Members Allowances on the Council’s website would meet the legal requirement for disclosure.

Decision made (Unanimously)

That:

1.    Cabinet endorses the production of one FORWARD newspaper in October 2018 and the production of a newsletter for each My Neighbourhood forum produced in November detailing Christmas events in each area with funding made available from the corporate communications budget.

2.    Cabinet approve a delivery method of the October edition of FORWARD via Royal Mail delivery.

3.    Cabinet approve the re-establishment of the communicating with residents and businesses cross party Member Working Group to review the way the Council should communicate with residents and businesses in the Borough in the future.

Reason(s) for the Decision:

A Communications Strategy was developed in 2017 that would transform how the Council would communicate with its stakeholders. One of the objectives in the medium-term action plan was to undertake a rigorous and evidence based review of the FORWARD newspaper.

Following the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee the report was amended to reflect local government guidance around Council publications.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

None.