Policies and Procedures

Hemswell Parish Council (PC) is committed to providing open and accurate information about its governance, decisions and activities. This document summarises Hemswell Parish Council’s policy for internal and external communications with a range of parties using all forms of media. The policy is intended to explain the methods of communication with the community of Hemswell Parish, between its members and staff, the wider public and external organisations that engage with the PC. This policy also explains how the PC meets its legal requirements and any applicable restrictions.

Hemswell Parish Council aims to inform the community and the wider county area about important news and information through as many communication channels as possible. The Parish Council recognises that electronic communication (email), social media and press publications allow it to communicate efficiently and effectively, facilitate and encourage informed comments from interested individuals and groups and promote a community spirit. The Parish Council aims to use the most effective communication channel for each given topic and will update this policy to reflect new arrangements or means of communication.

This policy does not seek to regulate the communication of members acting in their private capacity who may freely express their personal opinions and views, subject to the binding obligations placed on members by its Code of Conduct, including the requirement not to disclose information regarded as confidential and not to misrepresent the Parish Council’s position.

1. Policy Scope

This policy applies to all council members and employees and to any person acting for or on behalf of the Parish Council.

2. Legal Requirements and Restrictions

This policy is subject to the Parish Council’s obligations as set out in the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the Local Government Act (LGA) 1972, the Local Government Act (LGA) 1986 (pre-election publicity), the Localism Act 2011, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998, UK GDPR and other legislation which may apply together with the PC Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and adopted Members Code of Conduct. PC policies may be found on its website: https://hemswell.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/council-business/policies-procedures/19

The PC cannot disclose confidential information or information for which disclosure is prohibited by law, for example, under the terms of a court order, by legislation, Standing Orders, under contract or by common law. Members are subject to additional restrictions regarding disclosing confidential information under the PC’s Code of Conduct.

3. Meetings

i. A PC meeting or a meeting of its committees is open to the public unless the meeting resolves to exclude them because their presence at the meeting is prejudicial to the public interest due to the confidential nature of the business or other special reason(s) stated in the resolution. (Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, c.67, s 1.)

ii. As per the PC’s Standing Orders, persons may be required to leave a meeting of the PC and its committees, if their disorderly behaviour obstructs the business of the meeting.

iii. Where a meeting of the PC and its committees provides an opportunity for public participation, the media may speak and ask questions. The PC’s standing orders regulate public participation.

iv. The photographing, recording, filming or other reporting of a meeting of the PC and its committees (which includes e.g. use of a mobile phone or tablet, recording for a TV/radio broadcast, providing commentary on blogs, web forums, or social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) which enable a person not at the meeting to see, hear or be given commentary about the meeting is permitted unless:

a. the meeting has resolved to hold all or part of the meeting without the public present or,

b. such activities disrupt the proceedings or

c. paragraphs v. and vi. below apply.

v. The photographing, recording, filming or other reporting of a child or vulnerable adult at a PC or committee meeting is prohibited unless an adult responsible for them has given permission.

vi. Oral reporting or commentary about a PC or committee meeting by a person who is present at the meeting is not permitted.

vii. The PC shall, as far as it is practicable, provide reasonable facilities for anyone taking a report of a PC or committee meeting and for telephoning their report at their own expense.

viii. The PC’s Standing Orders will confirm if public attendance, participation, photographing, recording, filming or other reporting is permitted at a sub-committee meeting.

4. Communications Generally

All communications in any media, from Hemswell Parish Council, its members or employees, regardless of the recipient, should meet the following criteria. It must

Be civil, tasteful and relevant.
Not contain content that is unlawful, libellous, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually-oriented or racially offensive.
Not contain content knowingly copied from elsewhere, for which the Parish Council does not own the copyright.
Not contain any personal information, other than necessary basic contact details.
Be written to make clear the capacity in which the author is communicated, e.g., as an individual or as a councillor.

When writing any communication, the author should assume it may be subject to disclosure or a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore, communications should be relevant, concise, and accurate. Information in communications may not be confidential but may contain sensitive information that must be respected and should not be forwarded or copied unless strictly necessary using the correct protocol of ‘carbon copy’ (cc) or ‘blind carbon copy’ (bcc). Email trails should be removed where appropriate.

If information containing personal data needs to be held on behalf of the Parish Council, it must be stored in accordance with the requirements of UK GDPR. Antivirus software and operating systems must be kept up-to-date on all devices used for electronic communication.

5. Electronic Communication (Email)

Electronic communication (email) is used within the PC, and between it and the community it serves and the businesses and agencies, it works with.

Emails sent and received by the PC members or staff may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, a subject access request (SAR) or during legal proceedings.

Section 3(2)(b) of the FOIA sets out the legal principles that establish whether information is held for the purposes of the FOIA. For the purposes of this Act, information is held by a public authority if—

a. it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person, or

b. it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

PC members or staff deleting or concealing information with the intention of preventing its disclosure following receipt of a request is a criminal offence under section 77 of FOIA.

Information held in non-work personal email accounts (e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail) may be subject to FOIA if it relates to the official business of the PC. All such information held by someone with a direct, formal connection with the PC is potentially subject to FOIA, regardless of whether it is in an official or private email account. If information held in a private account amounts to public authority business, it is very likely to be held on behalf of the public authority in accordance with section 3(2)(b).

Information in the personal emails of PC members or staff that does not relate to the business of the PC will not be subject to the 1998 or 2000 Act. However, to avoid the complications of requesting searches of private email accounts and other private media (e.g. mobile phones, text messages, etc.), PC management policies make clear that information on PC-related business should be recorded only via official PC email accounts and adhere to the principles set out in Section 4.

6. Parish Council Correspondence

6.1 General Correspondence

i. The Parish Council's point of contact is the clerk, and all correspondence addressed to the PC should be addressed and sent to the clerk.

ii. The clerk should send all official correspondence from the PC on behalf of the PC using appropriately headed paper.

iii. The clerk should deal with all correspondence following a meeting.

iv. No individual member or officer should be the sole custodian of any correspondence or information in the name of the PC, a committee, a sub-committee or a working party. Members and officers do not have a right to obtain confidential information/documentation unless they can demonstrate a ‘need to know’.

v. Where correspondence from the clerk to a member is copied to another person, the addressee should be made aware that a copy is being forwarded to that other person, e.g. copied to XX.

6.2 Agenda Items for Council, Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Parties

i. Agendas should be clear and concise. They should contain sufficient information to enable members to make an informed decision about a subject, and for the public to understand the matters being considered and the decisions to be taken at a meeting.

ii. Items for information should be kept to a minimum on an agenda.

iii. Where the clerk or a member wishes other members to receive matters for “information only”, this information will be circulated via the clerk.

6.3 Communications with the Press and Public

i. The clerk will review and approve all press reports or comments to the media in conjunction with the council Chair or committee Chair.

ii. Press reports from the council, its committees or working parties should be from the clerk or an officer or via the reporter’s own attendance at a meeting

iii. Unless the council has authorised a member to speak to the media on a particular issue, members asked for comment by the press should make it clear that their comment is a personal view and ask that it be reported as such.

iv. Unless a member is certain they are reporting the council's view, they must make it clear to members of the public that they are expressing a personal view.

v. If members receive a complaint from a member of the public, this should be dealt with under the PC-adopted complaints procedure or via an agenda item.

6.4 Councillor Member Correspondence with External Parties

i. In the first instance, the clerk is responsible for sending correspondence from a member to other bodies, which must state whether the communication is written in their official capacity as a PC member and whether the PC has authorised it.

ii. Members must not send, receive or disseminate proprietary data or any confidential information belonging to the PC to or from a third party unless authorised.

iii. A copy of all outgoing correspondence relating to the council or a member's role should be sent to the clerk, and it should be noted on the correspondence, e.g., “copy to the clerk,” so that the recipient is aware the clerk has been advised.

iv. If a member of the public or press requests a copy of any correspondence from a PC member or seeks comments on a controversial topic, the matter should be referred to the clerk, who will consider the request and advise the PC accordingly.

v. If a suspected or real data breach occurs, the clerk must be informed within 48 hours. A separate policy on Data Breach is available.

6.5 Communications with Parish Council Staff

i. Members must not give instructions to any staff member unless authorised to do so (e.g., by three or more members sitting as a committee/sub-committee with appropriate delegated powers from the PC).

ii. No individual members, regardless of title (e.g., Chair), may give instructions to the clerk or any other staff member that are inconsistent or conflict with council decisions or arrangements for delegated power.

iii. Telephone calls or meetings with the clerk or any staff member should be appropriate to the PC's work and legitimate council matters.

iv. E-mails:

Instant replies should not be expected from the clerk; reasons for urgency should be given.
Information to members should normally be circulated via the clerk.
Members' e-mails to external parties should be sent via the clerk, but where this may not be possible, they must be copied to the clerk.
Members must acknowledge their e-mails when requested to do so.

7. Social Media

‘Social media’ describes websites and online tools that allow users to interact with each other, for example, by sharing information, opinions, knowledge, or interests. This interaction may be through mobile phones, ‘tablets,’ or computers.

Examples of social media websites include:

Social networking – e.g., www.facebook.com
Video sharing – e.g., www.youtube.com
Blogs - e.g., https://twitter.com/westlindseydc
Wikis - e.g., www.wikipedia.org

7.1 Hemswell Parish Council Use of Social Media

Hemswell PC uses a variety of social media to provide information about its services and work to its local community and wider audiences. The officially approved PC sites are:

Website: https://hemswell.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/homepage/1/homepage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hemswellparishcouncil/

The PC’s social media channels support the information published via minutes and its newsletter. PC members and staff will not use social media to engage in online debates or arguments.

The clerk is the PC’s nominated ‘Press Officer’ with the authority to issue official press releases. No other council member or staff member (other than the Chair deputising for the clerk) has the authority to issue public statements on behalf of the PC. Requests for material to be posted to the PC Facebook page should be directed to the clerk. Acceptable Facebook content includes,

News feed and emergency information
Event listings
Key dates
Short debates & quick comments on relevant news
Polls and information gathering
Links to other service providers.

The PC reserves the right to remove comments received on Facebook that:

Contain abusive, obscene, indecent or offensive language directed at any individual, group or organisation or that links to obscene or offensive material.
Contain swear words or other sorts of profanity.
Are not relevant to the original item posted.
Constitute spam or promote or advertise products, except for an event, publication, or similar item that directly relates to the subject of discussion.
Are designed to cause a nuisance to the site administrator or other users.

For serious and/or persistent breaches of the moderation policy, the PC reserves the right to prevent users from posting further comments and reserves the right to take any necessary steps to report abusive or offensive posts.

7.2 Social Media Guidance for Council and Staff Members

Council members and staff using social media should be mindful of the principles applicable to holding public office – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. No information should be published on social media that is not already known to be in the public domain – e.g., available on the PC website, contained in minutes of meetings, or stated in PC policies or procedures.

Social media posts and publications must be responsible and ‘socially aware’ and meet the following criteria:

Information should be factual, fair, thorough, and transparent.
Council members and staff must be mindful that information published via social media may stay in the public domain indefinitely, possibly without the opportunity for retrieval/deletion.
Copyright laws must be respected.
Other organisations should not be referenced without their approval. Wherever possible, hyperlinks directing to the source of the information should be used.
Nothing must be posted or published that would be regarded as unlawful, libellous, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually-oriented or racially offensive.
Information must not be posted or published for personal or political purposes.
Information or content that could only be accessed by holding the office of a councillor or a staff member must not be posted or shared via social media.

Related Policies and Documents

Standing Orders

Financial Regulations

Code of Conduct

Complaints Procedure

Data Protection Policy

Data Breach Policy

Privacy Notice

Handling Freedom of Information Requests