Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Officer Commercial & Customer which presented the quarter 1 update (April to June 2021) against the Corporate Communications Strategy.

The Chief Officer Commercial and Customer spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

A Member commented that he felt there appeared to be no interaction from leading Members with journalists and the local newspapers.

In response to a Member’s question regarding direct contact with the media, the Chief Officer Commercial and Customer confirmed that the Council’s Corporate Communications Team dealt directly with the press and colleagues in the media.

A Member pointed out that some members of the press viewed Committee meetings online and in the past there had been some criticism that Members had been issuing individual statements on social media.

The Member felt that as publically elected Members they were answerable to the public for the decisions taken and the best way to do that was through the local press and believed that the Leadership of the Council should be proactive in this regard.

In response to a Member’s question regarding the rationale behind the decision of which newspaper got which story, the Chief Officer Commercial and Customer explained that sometimes a dual approach was taken, if there was a specific topic they would look to the most relevant network, if a broader approach was needed then that particular article would be shared more widely, however, not all networks may decide to follow through to publication. 

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 1; namely that the quarter 1 progress update against the Communications Strategy, be endorsed.