Local Government Committee, 18 Sep 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Official Report 164KB pdf

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Committee Newsletter

The next item is the committee newsletter. Members have received a briefing paper, which lays out some of our proposals and ideas. The purpose of the newsletter will be to get more information out to our constituent groups about what has gone on, what is going on and what will go on in the Local Government Committee. The newsletter will be sent out to groups in hard copy and it will be published on the website. I will take the committee through the briefing paper paragraph by paragraph. Members should call out if there is something that they do not understand or that they want to change.

The paragraph on introduction and purpose is fair enough and I think the one on the background is clear. Do members want to suggest any changes to the paragraph on the purpose of the newsletter? As I said, the aim is to get more information out to people about what we are doing and to co-ordinate our activities.

Do members have points about the paragraph on the target audience?

It is stated that the target audience includes

"officers and members of the 32 councils".

Do we send the newsletter direct to each individual, or do we send it to the council and ask the council to distribute it to the target audience?

We will probably send it to the council.

I do not know how practical this is, but I would prefer community councils to be in the primary rather than secondary audience. They, too, are elected bodies and all their work falls around local councils.

The newsletters will all go out at the same time. Arrangements have been made to send them direct to community councils. I do not see community councils as secondary. Should we add any other bodies to the list?

We should add the principal trade unions with local government connections.

I had not thought of them—that is a good point.

We are considering publishing four editions of the newsletter a year. Is that acceptable?

Members indicated agreement.

I have already said that the newsletter will go out in both hard copy and electronic copy. As far as I know, that will be done through the Stationery Office.

Could the newsletter be made available in different languages? If we send it out to community groups, their primary language might not be English. Is there provision for it being published in an alternative language if that is requested?

We are considering the possibility of the newsletter going out in English and Gaelic. We have asked Eugene Windsor to find out what happens with other publications. We must identify our audience. If there is a demand for it to be produced in another language, we could certainly consider that. Eugene will explore the matter over the next couple of weeks and we will get it sorted out. I cannot think of an example where that demand might exist, but Michael McMahon may well be right and in that case we will have the newsletter translated, if that is possible.

Other documents that the Parliament publishes are provided in another language when that is requested, if they are not published in another language as of right. Will that provision be made available in relation to the newsletter?

Yes. Eugene Windsor will check the matter out. I have asked him to speak to people such as the clerks of the Equal Opportunities Committee.

The briefing paper states that the newsletter will not provide information about the views of individuals or party groups but will be a non-partisan, non-political document. Examples are given of what will be included in it.

I do not want people to find that there is a mass of words and nothing else. We must consider the format to ensure that it is punchy and gets the appropriate information over.

On the production arrangements, because the newsletter is intended to be non-political and non-partisan, it should be possible for the contents to be signed off by the convener, the deputy convener and the clerk. I guess that if we make a terrible mistake, members will let us know.

Will we see a draft?

No. We did not intend to produce a draft for the committee, but if members want us to produce one we could do so.

I would rather attack you after the event, convener.

Can we accept the proposals on the newsletter?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting continued in private until 16:02.