Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey People
Came through my door this morning. How much does it cost to produce this glossy full-colour magazine and why are the council still publishing it while cutting day centres and other essential services? An paying someone to deliver it house to house.
If they must publish something, Hackney council produce a smaller newspaper-style one, presumably cheaper, which actually has a lot more local community information in it and not just council good news propaganda.
Tags for Forum Posts: haringey people
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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why are the council still publishing [Haringey People magazine] while cutting day centres and other essential services?
Maddy, this is an extremely good and pertinent question and I suggest you put this firmly to whoever is your local Councillor.
This publication is part of the Council's big Communications Department, whose highly-paid staff occupy offices on the top floor of River Park House.
Some form of printed communication from the Council is probably needed from time to time, but I can think of a number of ways that HP's costs can be reduced signficantly – and you probably can too!
Clive Carter
Highgate Councillor
Liberal Democrat Party
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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on
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'whoever is your local councillor' - if 'Haringey People' were one's only source of information, page 28 does list all the councillors by ward and gives surgery details. Mind you, the type size (about 5 point) is much smaller than on any other page. 'No-one reads the small print' comes to mind.
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Gordon, IMO, HP does contain useful information. Unfortunately, it's a small minority of the total space. Most of it's a waste of paper, while some of it comprises Propaganda on the rates (q.v.)
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I pass no judgment on its usefulness or value, only on the legibility of the contact details!
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On cost, there is currently an FOI request, as yet unanswered - see here.
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On 'whoever is your local councillor' I've just used the 'Haringey Maps' part of the council website. It declares my local councillors to be David Schmitz, Karen Alexander and Gina Adamou. Haringey People 1, website 0.
corporate.gis@haringey.gov.uk have been told (off).
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I just put my postcode into the search engine on the website and my councillors pop up instantly. Typically thought it's a councillor from the next ward over who is the most useful to me, she keeps people updated with local information regularly.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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That's great - they've got til Friday to reply it seems. It seems to me a massive waste of money and it usually goes straight in the recycling bin. Also - in this day and age they could easily produce an online newsletter.
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Well they do, as a PDF. I guess the tricky (i.e. cost) part for them would be tracking every address in the borough as to whether it's opted for the print version or the online one.
The first question in the FOI request asks for the 'total amount it costs to publish and distribute' it, for each year since 2010. Would be good if it's broken down between the two categories.
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Permalink Reply by Abi on
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This is what frustrates me - it might be a negligible cost in which case fine, they're as welcome to print it as I am to (not) read it. But I don't like the fact that this information seems to be being kept under wraps.
The fact that other councils have already scrapped their own versions, however, does imply that it might be a significant cost, which would make continuation of this one pretty inexcusable.
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Permalink Reply by Rod Anderson on
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Agreed. Half the information was for events that had already happened!
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