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12. INFRASTRUCTURE: EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
News Releases
12.1 At the national level, stakeholder group members will be copied in on all News Releases for information and where appropriate given the opportunity to comment ahead of issue. Stakeholder organisations will also issue News Releases, with NFU Scotland in particular likely to be very active on this front. It will be advantageous if News Releases are shared with government and between stakeholder organisations prior to issue, whenever possible, to ensure consistency of message.
12.2 At the local level News Releases will be circulated, where possible, at least 15 minutes to all operational partners in advance of issue. This prior notice will allow those affected time to activate any necessary arrangements and give an opportunity for inaccuracies to be picked up before they are formally issued.
The role of stakeholder groups in communications
12.3 The importance of stakeholder relations has been highlighted by recent disease outbreaks. Stakeholder groups at both local and national level will play a pivotal role in informing to their members through various means including helplines, newsletters, websites, e-mails and text messaging.
12.4 Stakeholders should work with Scottish Government to identify complementary communications channels which avoid duplication of effort, maximise audience and maintain clarity and consistency of message. Strategies for closer integration of communications methods might include:
- sharing of News Releases for comment ahead of issue;
- issuing joint News Releases or supporting statements from 3rd parties on specific issues;
- Scottish Government giving stakeholder groups access to copies of veterinary and policy presentations explaining the disease situation and rationale for control measures for use with their members;
- sharing copies of newsletters/website updates ahead of publication;
- stakeholders convening to discuss common issues, including 'communications';
- Scottish Government and NFU Scotland liaising over text message updates in terms of timing and content.
Stakeholder group meetings
12.5 National level stakeholder group meetings provide a forum for members to meet officials on the policy and veterinary side, industry colleagues, welfare specialists, and operational partners face to face in order to clarify and resolve issues. Group members will alert the Scottish Government to any particular issues and have a reciprocal role to play in offering feedback. The various stakeholder groups are detailed in Appendix F while other stakeholders can be drawn in as the situation demands.
12.6 In the main, stakeholder groups have met for liaison, information gathering and onward dissemination rather than for decision making. This however is kept under review and depending on the type of disease and situation at the time there may be scope for stakeholder organisations taking on more of a decision making role at national level forums.
12.7 Attendance at meetings should be limited to two representatives per body in order to keep the group effective and manageable. Group members have the option of joining by teleconference and the meeting chair will take care to ensure that all virtual attendees can follow proceedings.
12.8 Local Stakeholder Group meetings will also take place, chaired by the ROD.
Stakeholder sub-group meetings
12.9 Smaller, specialist stakeholder sub-groups may be formed with representatives cherry-picked for their expertise in providing advice on a specific issue. For smaller sub-group meetings, video conferencing facilities can be made available. The output from sub-groups can help frame further discussion and any decision taken at sub-group meetings will then be discussed at the full national level stakeholder group forum.
Stakeholder e-mail updates
12.10 In addition to face to face meetings the national level stakeholder group will receive regular e-mail updates on the latest developments. Wherever possible correspondence will originate from a single source which is likely to be the Assistant Communications Coordinator (see Appendix D for a full Job Description). Recipients of these information updates are strongly encouraged to have the infrastructure in place in order to maximise the onward cascade of this information to their members and any other interested parties. This is an essential tool in reaching as many of the target audiences as possible.
12.11 Stakeholder e-mail updates will be as frequent as needed in order to cascade key information as widely as possible. Updates will include details such as:
- the current disease situation;
- details of new movement licences;
- feedback from meetings with the European Commission.
12.12 An additional option will be to include a PDF attachment in e-mail updates, featuring text based around the 'latest update' page on the Scottish Government website. This will cover the latest headline developments and provide a clear list of do's and don'ts. Recipients are strongly encouraged to cascade this attachment electronically and print out copies and distribute as appropriate e.g. for display at veterinary surgeries or markets.
Helplines
12.13 A key plank in the Communications Strategy is the capability to set up an official helpline system. The logistics and knowledge to set up such a system will be in place as part of ongoing emergency preparedness. One helpline will be set up at the national level and will be led by RPID staff. A further helpline will be set up at the local level, joining together support from Scottish Government, Animal Health agency and other SCG members as appropriate. To ensure a consistent message, all helpline staff will receive the regularly updated Key Brief document to use as a core script when answering queries. The helplines are of considerable importance as they have a dual function; to provide assistance to farmers and others with queries and also to gather intelligence on developing problems. Helpline calls are monitored and key issues arising are used to highlight pressure points for onward referral to DSG for resolution.
12.14 Staff operating the national helpline will liaise closely with the Disease Strategy Unit over developments who will, in turn, brief the helpline team every morning prior to the helpline opening for business. The national helpline will deal with queries from outwith the immediate vicinity of the IP and offer advice on issues such as:
- signposting people to where other, more specific information can be obtained e.g. public health or business support;
- uplift of dead stock;
- licensing conditions.
12.15 The DVM/ ROD will work with the SCGs to create a local helpline. This will support all aspects of local needs and could include:
- consequence management issues such as social services;
- disease control related information;
- public health concerns.
12.16 It is intended that this will build on existing local emergency planning infrastructure and could include input from local authorities, health boards, other relevant local organisations and possibly industry.
Scottish Government website
12.17 There is a clear demand for a comprehensive online tool during a disease outbreak, with internet use increasing among rural communities and broadband technology improving ease and speed of internet access.
12.18 In addition to the standing information on exotic animal disease which is available throughout the year on the Scottish Government website, 'darksite' sections for use in the event of an outbreak have been developed. These websections have been designed to complement the information already available on the live website and will allow for a comprehensive and well structured disease outbreak websection to be launched immediately on confirmation of disease. The disease outbreak websection will contain a range of information which is likely to include some or all of the following:
- disease background;
- the current situation;
- latest update page (printable);
- biosecurity advice;
- clinical signs;
- access advice;
- economic advice;
- copies of letters sent to producers;
- minutes of stakeholder meetings;
- Customer Information Notes;
- trade issues;
- FAQ;
- details of movement restrictions;
- links to legislation;
- full movement licences;
- maps of zones;
- links to News Releases;
- useful links e.g. farmer welfare.
12.19 Resources will be dedicated to keeping the contents under constant review to ensure all information is up-to-date and the websection remains user/farmer-friendly. For ease of access, disease outbreak dedicated pages will be signposted on the Scottish Government homepage and also on the Agricultural homepage, preferably accompanied with a suitable thumbnail picture to improve user access. Where cross Directorate issues arise the AHW disease outbreak websection will link in to other relevant Scottish Government websections e.g. the Pandemic Flu websection in the event of avian influenza H5N1 being confirmed.
12.20 Stakeholder websites will also feature disease outbreak information. Websites will include useful links with most offering signposting to the Scottish Government website. Stakeholder websites provide an invaluable information point for their members and other interested parties. Information provided at stakeholder meetings and receipt of e-mail updates will enable stakeholders to get details of the latest developments for inclusion on their websites.
12.21 The Scottish Government and other websites are only one channel of communication and have not made other forms redundant. They are however a medium able to propagate detailed information widely, quickly and cost effectively. For this reason, industry are encouraged to promote internet access among their membership as part of standard contingency planning arrangements at the individual business level.
Text messaging services
12.22 DSG may request that RPID initiate a text messaging service if they think appropriate under the circumstances. This service gives the general public the opportunity to sign up in order to receive regular text updates from Scottish Government free of charge. In the case of avian influenza or Newcastle disease a further option is to send text alerts to all those who have registered on the Poultry Register and also provided a mobile phone number. Text messages are restricted to 160 characters so are only suitable for headline updates e.g. alerts to new licences but will provide signposting to the Scottish Government website for further detail. This service is a useful innovation as mobile phone use is almost universal among farmers. It is also a good way of reaching those out of the office such as hauliers while out on the road. For this service to be effective it will be important to issue text updates in a timely fashion.
12.23 Disease Control Stakeholder Group members may also be contacted by text message to be alerted to forthcoming stakeholder group meetings. This will act as a back-up to e-mail notification.
'Dear Producer' mailshots
12.24 The importance of communications that are directed and delivered to individual farmers during an outbreak is recognised. Mailshots ensure those who do not have internet access or receive communications from a stakeholder organisation are reached. Letters will detail what the current situation is and also aim to explain the reasons for any restrictions in place. The frequency of mailshots is a judgement call but are generally reserved for headline announcements due to cost implications. Consideration should be given to the introduction of branding for disease emergency communications, to be placed on mailing envelopes. This would ensure that those receiving the mail would be aware that this related to an outbreak.
Agricultural trade press/radio broadcasts
12.25 Another means of reaching individuals without internet access or affiliation to a stakeholder organisation is to place articles/adverts in the agricultural trade press, although this approach may be unsuitable in a fast moving disease situation.
12.26 Radio broadcasts are a good way of getting information out instantaneously to a wide audience and particularly useful for spreading awareness locally or even nationally.
24 hour availability
12.27 It will be important that the main stakeholder organisations have access to key contacts within Scottish Government. Contact numbers and e-mail addresses will be distributed at the outset as appropriate. There is potentially a huge demand for information during disease outbreaks and for this reason it is important that stakeholder organisations effectively coordinate information to their members and advertise any Scottish Government helpline number. This will help to reduce the huge call volume experienced by senior officials and allow this resource to concentrate on moving policy and veterinary issues forward and achieve a return to normal conditions as quickly as possible.
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