Media Policy
Any press release from the Town Council is to be approved by the Town Clerk and where requested, copied to all Town Councillors.
Press releases from the Town Council need not be formally worded in stilted language but must not be partisan.
For the avoidance of doubt, an individual Town Councillor or political party may issue their own statements to the media but those must not give the impression of being a release from the Town Council or on the Town Council’s behalf.
Parish Council Correspondence
- The point of contact for the parish council is the Clerk, and it is to the Clerk that all correspondence for the parish council should be addressed.
ii. The Clerk should deal with all correspondence following a meeting.
iii. No individual Councillor or Officer should be the sole custodian of any correspondence or information in the name of the parish council, a committee, sub-committee or working party. In particular, Councillors and Officers do not have a right to obtain confidential information/documentation unless they can demonstrate a ‘need to know’.
iv. All official correspondence should be sent by the Clerk in the name of the council using council letter headed paper.
v. Where correspondence from the Clerk to a Councillor is copied to another person, the addressee should be made aware that a copy is being forwarded to that other person (e.g. copy to XX).
There is no need to respond to unsolicited invitations or spam emails, indeed there are very good reasons for not so doing.
Inevitably, the Town Council may receive repeated communications from individual members of the public on the same subject(s). It is permissible for clerk to merely acknowledge such emails/letters without having to respond to each and every point. In any such case, the Council would be consulted.
It should always be remembered that it is possible to recover any electronic correspondence.
Obscene & Abusive Language
Staff and Councillors are not obliged to listen to abusive and obscene tirades or address members of the public in this way. In such a case the caller should politely be asked to desist and advised that if they continue to use such language the call will be terminated. If the abuse or obscenity continues then the call can be terminated.
Care however should be taken as some ‘vivid descriptions’ are used in the ordinary course of speech by certain sections of the community. A judgement should be made from the tone if that is the position. In such cases a councillor or member of staff can ask for moderation but may choose to continue the contact.