Archived decisions

Draft responses to the questions on the AUP

1. If references to political groups by name were not appropriate would references to "ruling group" or "opposition" be acceptable?

The Members Code of Conduct provides that the resources of the County Council should not be used for political purposes and the statutory Code of Publicity Practice says that publicity should not be liable to misrepresentation as being partly political.

It would therefore be inappropriate in discussing matters within the web pages to refer to political parties or to do so in a way which can be misrepresented as such. Therefore, references to the administration and opposition would, in my opinion, be outwith this Code.

It would however, be appropriate to refer to the Council's proposals or actions and to them being opposed or vigorously opposed by the member.

It would also be appropriate for the reader to be directed to a non HCC web site for further information, although a disclaimer would need to be contained on the HCC web pages that the contents of the other web site were not the responsibility of HCC.

2. Will the identification of political parties be forbidden?

Yes, see above. Although links can be provided in the web pages to a political web site or the personal web site of the member, subject to an appropriate HCC disclaimer.

3. Will references to a member holding a position within their political party be forbidden?

I see no difficulty in that part of the web pages which gives contact details to also indicate positions held such as Leader of the County Council, Executive Member for a specific function, Leader of a political party or political spokesperson for a specific function.

4. Is it for the County Council to provide web sites for individual members?

The provision of members' web pages is a Government e initiative and is primarily aimed at enhancing the role of all members and their visibility to the public. It also facilitates greater openness of what the Council and individual members are doing on behalf of the community. It is therefore entirely consistent with the role and responsibility of the Council.

5. How will the web pages be monitored in order to ensure compliance with the policy?

The web pages will be primarily monitored by the public themselves, who can draw attention to any perceived breaches of the AUP. However, additionally, officers will also occasionally examine web pages to ensure compliance with the AUP and thereby the protection of the HCC position but, it is not the responsibility of officers to ensure breaches do not occur.

6. Are the web sites a waste of time because members cannot say what they want to say in them?

Not at all. The restrictions are there to protect not only HCC's interest and comply with statutory provisions but also to protect members themselves. It is anticipated that if members wish to get their message across to the public, this is a route which the public are most likely to use. If members wish to make comments which would fall outside the AUP, they can always direct the reader to an external web site, subject to an HCC disclaimer being apparent. They are also a means by which members can inform the public on how to contact the Council and about important decisions being made.

7. As it will be possible to "get round" the policy is there any point in having one?

There will be no "getting around the policy". It exists to protect members and the Council. However, members do need to be aware of how far they can go, before crossing the line.

8. Will you be permitted to link to a political party web page from your own web page?

Yes, it will be permissible to link to a party political or non Council sponsored personal web page, subject to a clear disclaimer or warning to the reader that they are leaving the Council web site and that therefore the Council can accept no further responsibility for the contents of those external web sites.

9. What will be the position if you are a member of two councils and each has a different set of rules in relation to the use of web pages?

The County Council web site should only contain details of the members' roles and responsibilities in respect of the County Council. It is on that basis only that the County Council resources can be used. It is highly likely that a twin hatted member will be provided with the same facility (subject to very similar restrictions) in respect of their District Council role.

10. Will the restrictions mean that only the ruling party can benefit from web pages?

Not at all. The provision of members' web pages is available to all members equally. The same policy (and restrictions) will apply to all members irrespective of their position in the Council.

11. If a school is under threat of closure, can I refer to that and say that I am opposed to it?

Yes, it will be permissible to refer to Council actions and proposals and to include your own opinions and views, provided that it is not done in party political terms. As members will be aware, special provisions would apply where the member has a prejudicial interest in the matter, such as having a child attend the school in question. In these circumstances, specific advice should be obtained from the Monitoring Officer.

12. Do I need to maintain web pages separately for each Council of which I am a member?

No. Although the web pages are intended to reflect a councillor's role for the hosting council, provided that appropriate policies are complied with, there is likely to be no objection to only one Council's Members' web pages being utilised and updated with a link from the other Councils' Members' web pages to that site. Obviously, as above, appropriate disclaimers would be applied whenever the viewer left one Council's web site for any other.

13. Can I include in my web pages a photograph of myself, perhaps together with a nationally known politician?

There is no problem about including a photograph of the County Councillor on the web pages. However, as noted above, material on the web pages, which can include images as well as words, must not be liable to misrepresentation as being party political. This could include a photograph of the Councillor with a national party political figure. However, it does depend on the context in which the photograph is taken. If there is a direct relationship with the County Council's functions, for example, the opening of a waste recycling centre in a member's division, then it is likely to be permissible. If, however, it relates to a purely party political function unrelated to the Council's functions, then it is far less likely to be permissible. All photos of third parties need to comply with the Data Protection act.

14. Will someone viewing the web pages be able to see all of the pages, even those which have no entries?

No. Although the member whose web pages they are will be able to view all pages, irrespective of whether there is any content, others will only be able to inspect those pages which do have content.