Agenda item

To consider a presentation from the Communications Manager.

The Board considered a presentation from Martin Dunscombe (Agenda Item 7) concerning Covid related communications. Key points from the presentation included:

·         Community testing remained a key theme - emphasising its importance and letting people know how they could access testing.

·         Adverts had gone out in the Newbury Weekly News (NWN).

·         Adverts had also gone out on social media, reaching 120,000 people, with people typically seeing the adverts 7 times.

·         The residents’ newsletter was being opened between 35,000 and 40,000 times each week.

·         Parents had been contacted, to emphasise the importance of regular testing, targeting schools with outbreaks initially, followed by a letter to all parents.

·         The mobile testing facilities had been promoted to parish councils and residents.

·         NHS messages on vaccinations had been shared as they were released. These used key influencers to get the messages across to younger age groups.

·         Discussions were being held with CCG colleagues to discuss how the approach should be adapted for a younger audience (e.g. use of Snapchat, TikTok, etc).

·         Efforts were also being made to engage younger people who did not have access to digital channels.

·         A new digital and physical campaign was to be launched around parks and open spaces, which were predicted to be well-used over the summer. This had been co-designed with local communities to ensure messages resonated with local people. Key messages were around: enjoying spaces safely, respecting others, and taking rubbish home.

·         There had been promotions around mental health, including the Surviving to Thriving Fund and Mental Health Awareness Week, with adverts in NWN and on social media, a social media take-over day, and an article in the residents’ newsletter.

·         Planned future campaigns included:

o   Vaccine communications for 18-30 year olds;

o   Continued promotion of community testing;

o   Confirmatory PCR tests for positive LFD test results;

o   Social distancing at school gates; and

o   Informing communities about the increase in cases.

Councillor Jo Stewart thanked the Comms Team for their effective campaigns, particularly the Surviving to Thriving Fund. She welcomed the Parks and Open Spaces campaign, noting that these spaces were being used more than ever, and asked to be closely involved in looking at how to get the message across about taking litter home.

The Chairman acknowledged Councillor Stewart’s litter-picking efforts and reported that he had been involved in litter-picking in Mortimer.

Councillor Steve Masters asked if the Local Outbreak Engagement Board could be broadcast on Facebook and other social media, to increase engagement. He noted that the ‘Ask Lynne’ sessions had been popular. Martin Dunscombe confirmed that the meetings were not currently being streamed to Facebook, but he offered to look at available options.

Councillor Alan Macro thanked the Comms Team for their hard work. He asked whether anything was being done with the Reading media, since residents in the east of the District did not read the Newbury Weekly News. Martin Dunscombe replied that adverts had been run in the Reading Chronicle and in the Penny Post. He also reported that Facebook advertising had targeted people across the whole of West Berkshire and had reached 120,000 people.