Contact: Jon Pittam (01962) 847400; email: [email protected], Keith Kerslake (01962) 847317; [email protected]

1 Summary of the report

1.1 This report presents a proposal for producing a joint council tax leaflet, with Hampshire Police Authority, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority and Hampshire district councils. The County Council's share of the cost of a joint leaflet is expected to be less than the production cost for the current format. Further there is some anecdotal evidence that the public would prefer to receive a single joint leaflet than the four separate leaflets under the current arrangements and it may be a more effective communication tool.

2 Background

2.1 Hampshire authorities have in the past suggested producing a joint council tax leaflet. However there was a perception that it would not be cost effective if all districts did not agree, as the County Council, Police and Fire Authorities would still be required to produce a separate leaflet in those areas not participating in the project. Hampshire has the second largest number of districts in its boundary in the country and whilst joint leaflets have been produced in other county areas including Devon and Nottinghamshire they have fewer districts than Hampshire.

3 Proposal development

3.1 The current proposal has been discussed at meetings of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Finance Officers and the Hampshire Communications Group with many authorities indicating support. Since then Hampshire Police Authority, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Test Valley Borough Council, Winchester, New Forest, Eastleigh, Rushmoor and Havant have confirmed their interest in being involved to the project team. If successful it is thought that other districts may wish to participate in future years.

3.2 The County Council's 2006/07 leaflet cost £17,687 to design, print and send to the district councils' distribution centres for packing with the council tax bills and other leaflets. Currently 800,000 copies of the leaflet are produced, the majority of which are sent to council taxpayers with their the council tax bill. The leaflet is seen as a key communication tool for messages relating to the County Council's spending and efficiency.

3.3 The main purpose of council tax leaflets reinforced by statute is to provide council taxpayers with information about the spending of the authority and the level of council tax payable to help them form a judgement about the efficiency and effectiveness of the authority. All authorities are required to produce a leaflet but the information requirements for district council leaflets are greater than for large precepting authorities. On average district council leaflets are twice the size of the others accompanying the bill.

3.4 The project is being led by a team of communication and finance officers from the County Council, Police Authority, Fire and Rescue Authority, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council (on behalf of district councils). The project team has had a series of meetings and is now seeking member approval for the project before going out to tender for the printing and design work.

4 Leaflet Structure

4.1 It is proposed that a single A5 booklet style leaflet of 24 pages is produced with each authority's information occupying an agreed number of pages. Four other pages comprising the leaflet's front and back covers, and first and last inside pages would contain shared information such as contact details and some generic financial information. As proposed the pages in a joint leaflet sent to Test Valley taxpayers (for example) would be shared as follows:

1-2 Front cover and Inside front cover: Shared

3-10 (8 pages): Test Valley Borough Council

11-14 (4 pages): Hampshire County Council

15-18 (4 pages): Hampshire Police Authority

19-22 (4 pages): Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

23-24 Inside Back Cover and Back Cover: Shared.

4.2 The number of pages allocated to each authority has been suggested as it reflects the amount of space typically used by the project team authorities in their 2006/07 leaflets. As such it is relatively easy to make reasonable comparisons of the costs of the new and old format. Perhaps more importantly this gives potential new entrants to the project welcome assurances that the project is being run on an equitable basis.

4.3 The four A5 pages for use by the County Council will provide an identical amount of space to that in the current leaflet. However the use of shared pages will mean these four pages will have more space for the County Council to include not only key finance messages but also some wider information about our own priorities and services. The production cost of the leaflet is expected to be split between authorities according to the number of pages allocated to them.

4.4 Where a district has chosen not to participate in the project in 2007/08 it is suggested that the County Council, Police and Fire Authorities would produce their own 16 page joint leaflet with the following structure:

1-2 Front cover and Inside front cover: Shared

3-6 (4 pages) Hampshire County Council

7-10 (4 pages) Hampshire Police Authority

11-14 (4 pages) Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

15-16 Inside back cover and back cover: Shared

4.5 It is has been shown that it would be more cost effective than the current arrangement for the three large precepting authorities to produce a joint leaflet to accompany the separate district leaflet. Strong corporate branding and bold use of colour will ensure that in both the all-authority version and precepting-authority versions taxpayers are not left with the impression that a single authority is providing all the services.

5 Costs

5.1 The project group approached five print companies (including Hampshire Printing Services) to give indicative costings for printing a joint leaflet in 2007/08. The companies were made aware of the timetable for producing the leaflet and the need for flexibility to cope with `last minute' changes to the content. The weight/thickness of the paper in the booklet style leaflet is less than in our 2006/07 leaflet but the quantity of pages will give the leaflet a sturdiness and professional look.

5.2 Each of the five companies estimated the cost at less than the total cost of producing separate leaflets in Hampshire and based on the proposed cost sharing all authorities would save. If the 8 districts showing interest in the project decided to go ahead the County Council would save £7,300 (43%) or if only the districts on the project team participated the saving would be £4,100 (24%). The percentage savings on design are expected to be similar.

6 Communication

6.1 There is agreement on the project group that a joint leaflet would create a more positive impression of the authorities involved than separate leaflets as it indicates that when possible authorities are willing to work in partnership to save money for council taxpayers. Council tax bills accompanied by four separate leaflets could undoubtedly give an impression of a lack of public sector
co-ordination and profligacy. Clearly in absolute monetary terms the saving is small although the impact of a more user friendly booklet means we could be more effective in getting our key messages and information across. As such there is likely to be public support for this proposal if it can be shown to be saving money whilst enhancing communication with the public. Both of these goals have been shown to affect public satisfaction with local authorities.

6.2 It is not possible to say whether a public preference for a joint leaflet will actually translate in to improved communication of the County Council's key messages within the booklet but this could be tested through our MORI residents survey next year. Cabinet may wish to consider whether the County Council's messages in the leaflet are more likely to be read in the middle of a booklet style leaflet or in one of a number of separate Council tax leaflets.

7 Recommendation

7.1 That Cabinet considers the financial, practical and communication issues raised in this report in relation to the production of a joint booklet style leaflet and indicates whether it wishes the County Council to continue to be involved in the project to produce a joint leaflet for 2007/08.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

N.B. the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None - all documents disclose exempt or confidential information.

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