Hampshire County Council advertising policy

1. General approach

a. Hampshire County Council (“the Council”) is committed to making the best use of its resources and maximising income opportunities where appropriate. Advertising, sponsorship and partnerships offer the opportunity to generate income, support local initiatives, and build positive relationships with the business community and other organisations.

b. The Council supports advertising and sponsorship that:

i. Helps support its services and communities
ii. Aligns with the values, obligations and policies of the Council
iii. Offers suitable value and is lawful, transparent, and fair.

This policy sets out the principles for working with third parties who wish to advertise with, or sponsor the Council, or enter into income-generating partnerships across a range of assets and platforms.

2. Excluded organisations, products and/or services

a. To ensure the Council’s advertising, sponsorship and partnership arrangements maintain public interest and are in line with the Council’s expectations and values, the following are not permitted:

i. Products and services that are, in the Council’s opinion, inconsistent with the Council’s Climate Change Strategy, including those provided by organisations involved in the extraction, refinement, production, supply, distribution, or sale of fossil fuels, as well as those related to high-emission vehicles and aviation.
ii. Private sector organisations which the Council deem to be in ‘competition’, or have a conflict of interest with services or products provided by the Council, its partners, its approved suppliers or other public sector organisations will be reviewed by the appropriate Council directorate and decisions will be at the Council’s sole discretion.
iii. Advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements with political organisations are not permitted.
iv. The Council reserves the right to refuse advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements from legal or quasi legal organisations who limit their services to a specific area of law (for example claims relating to personal injury).
v. The Council reserves the right to refuse advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements from organisations that offer credit, including loan, payday loan, credit card organisations or consumer hire. Credit advertisements must comply with all legal and regulatory requirements in force at the time of publication, including the Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2010 (as amended) where applicable.
vi. Advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements with gambling organisations are not permitted.
vii. Advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements where benefit is precluded from UK citizens are not permitted.
viii. The Council reserves the right to refuse advertisements, sponsorship and partner arrangements that it considers to be socially or politically contentious or which conflict with the policies, values or statutory obligations (e.g. equalities legislation) of the Council. Decisions on this will be at the Council’s sole discretion.

3. The specific categories of organisations, products or services which may not advertise, sponsor or enter into partnership arrangements are as follows:

a. Types of organisations:

i. Political organisations or those that appear to be designed to affect public support for any political party
ii. Manufacturers of tobacco products
iii. Manufacturers of alcohol products
iv. Advertising from any organisation associated with ‘adult industries’
v. Religious
vi. Educational establishments (includes academies, colleges, early years providers, free schools, independent schools, LA maintained schools and special schools)
vii. Organisations in a financial or legal conflict with the Council will not be permitted.

b. Types of products and services:

i. Tobacco
ii. Alcohol
iii. Gambling
iv. Weaponry
v. Illegal
vi. Pornography
vii. Adult content
viii. Advertising which has an overtly sexual ‘tone’
ix. Religious
x. Advertising which relates to any political or lobbying campaign, petition or similar will not be permitted.

c. The Council considers the following materials and services to have a conflict of interest with some products and services provided by the Council and therefore advertisement, sponsorship and partner arrangements for these materials and services will not be permitted:

i Metal
ii. Paper and cardboard
iii. Textiles
iv. Car batteries
v. Bric a brac
vi. Electrical and electronic equipment for re-use
vii. Scrap metal yards
viii. House clearance services
ix. Used or antiques shops
x. Small electrical shops
xi. Free advertising

d. Organisations providing care and support services are required to provide proof of CQC registration (if providing residential, nursing or domiciliary care) or be a member of Hampshire Trading Standards “Buy with Confidence” scheme.

e. The above list is not exhaustive and may be updated by the Council from time to time.

f. The Council reserves the right to decline advertising, sponsorship and partnership proposals from any organisation that it considers are inconsistent with its aims, values or obligations.

4. Style and content of advertising, sponsorship and partner arrangements

a. All advertising, sponsorship and partnership materials must:

i. Be factually accurate, comply with any legal requirements and be appropriate for public audience
ii. Not result in endorsement of any product, service or organisation by the Council
iii. Ensure any logos or branding are independent and clearly separated from Council branding and messaging

b. The Council at its sole discretion will not permit advertising, sponsorship and partnership material which is sexual in nature, which features partial or complete nudity, or which appears to promote or give undue publicity to illegal or inappropriate behaviour or lifestyles.

c. Humour in advertising is also to be approached with caution and the Council at its sole discretion will determine if an advertisement, sponsorship and partnership material is appropriate.

d. Advertising, which is critical of Hampshire County Council, its services/policies, its Members/officers or its partners, will not be permitted.

e. The Council’s logo shall not be incorporated into any advertisement, sponsorship and partnership materials without consent in writing from the Council.

f. It is the responsibility of the advertiser, sponsor and partner to check the accuracy and content of their advertisement (and of each insertion of the advert if more than one)..

g. Whilst the Council will endeavour to meet the advertiser, sponsor and partner’s request for preferred positioning the Council reserves the right to position advertorial and advertisements as it sees fit.

h. The Council may give advertorial or advertisements deemed to look like advertorial, a border or an ‘advertorial’ header to make readers aware that the text is not part of the Council’s editorial.

i. The Council reserves the right to approve, reject, or request amendments to any proposed content.

5. Approval and booking process

a. All advertising or sponsorship or partnership proposals must be submitted for assessment before being accepted by the Council. Each opportunity will be considered on a case-by-case basis against this policy and any other relevant policy, legal or contractual obligations.

b. Acceptance of any advertisement, sponsorship or partnership does not imply endorsement of any products, services or offers or that the Council is responsible for their quality and reliability, and the Council accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with any advertisement, sponsorship or partnership arrangement appearing in its materials or at its sites.

c. The Council reserves the right to refuse any individual advertisement, sponsorship or partnership not deemed appropriate without explanation and can remove it immediately, if it is necessary.

September 2025