Cambridge Matters has been published for four years at a loss of £25,000 per year, including overheads, the audio version and translated versions. That’s £100,000. Could this money have been spent better or just returned to the taxpayer?

Perhaps I should ask this question of CCC’s treasury official who deposited £9,000,000 in an Icelandic bank.

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

I see from 2009/2010 council tax booklet that CCC spends six times as much on communications (ads and mags0 as it does on Highways, Roads and Transport which is budgeted at £106,000 for the coming year.

Indeed four years of losses on Cambridge Matters Magazine equals this years budget for roads and transport. Can it really be that Cambridge Matters Magazine is 25% as important as Roads and Transport?

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

I see there is a place where one can subscribe to this site and get updates. How many people subscribe?

I couldn’t help but notice that until I started blogging on this site, the last post to this section was on 11th December, 2007 – about 16 months ago.
In that period there will have been five issues of Cambridge Matters Magazine published or some 5*42,500 = 215,500 copies produced. Why do you think so few have blogged on this site, given the volume of magazines distributed?

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

Official guidance from the government quango, Wrap, has told town halls how to get rid of weekly collections and overcome “public resistance”.

It advised the cuts should be done after local elections to stop people voting against them, and in the autumn or winter so that residents would not immediately notice the extra smells and vermin.

This is despite the fact that the World Health Organisation has called for weekly rubbish collections to protect public health. The report is understood to have been commissioned by ministers in 2005 and completed in 2006.

Vicky

Did CCC follow the advice from WRAP to suppress opposition and complaints. It is interesting that this year the changes come after local government elections and they are introduced in the Autumn, as they were in 2005.

Paul Harvey

Do you have access to this sort of figure then we could really know how much interest there is in the site and the magazine.

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

In a previous post I mentioned the WHO and bin emptying. I thought you might like the source of the quote for your readers and publication in the magazine.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2059129/Government-cover-up-over-axed-bin-collections.html

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

it might be of course that our following is increasing, but we have a long way to go before we match Susan Boyle.

I emailed my complaint to CCC today and asked that the magazine be closed. Perhaps your loyal readers will sign a petition to keep the magazine going.

It is surprising that no one has come to support my views or defend yours given the number of visits. Can you tell me how many reader letters you have published in the last two years or how many have wanted a letter published?

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

60g per copy, 42500 copies per issue, 4 issues per year.

60*42500*4/1000 = 10,080Kg. I wonder how many trees were cut down (from sustainable sources)

The overprint is very high. though some printers insist on being paid for over runs. The number of households in Cambridge does not vary by 500 to 1000 per quarter.

Cambridge Matters is losing money at the rate of about £20,000 pa: £16,000 on distribution and £4,000 on editorial costs – excluding overheads and your salary. Though you do more than just edit the magazine. On top of the £20,000 waste, one has to consider County Council advertising which comes out of our taxes. I reckon 4% of the £600,000 of publicity goes on Cambridge Matters. Perhaps it should be called Tax Payers Don’t Matter Magazine.

There is almost no interest in the magazine and this is reflected in the level of blog activity.

Much of the recruitment advertising can be put on the web.

Paul Harvey
Hinton Avenue
Cambridge

I would just like to clarify also that the £600,000 figure mentioned is a total across the council and also includes costs such as recruitment advertising etc.