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Councillors' Guidance

Councillors' Responsibilities

Councillors have been provided with the facilities to create edit Window on Woking weblogs and web pages by Woking Borough Council. These pages are provided to Councillors as a means of communicating with the communities they serve, and Councillors are responsible for the content of their own weblogs and web pages. Woking Borough Council is not responsible for approving content put on Councillors weblogs and pages and does not authorise or in any way sanction the content of Councillors' web pages.

This guidance sets out the main areas of law and personal conduct which apply to you, a local authority elected member, when publishing material on Window on Woking. Please be aware that you should never:

  • publish material that is potentially libellous or defamatory

  • use personal information in a way that contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998

  • use the site to promote a political party or campaigning organisation

  • use the site to promote a personal interest or secure for you or anyone else an advantage

  • mount personal campaigns on the site

  • use the site in an abusive or hateful manner

Please remember that you have agreed to observe the Members' Code of Conduct (see further below) and these core obligations apply to you when you publish material on Window on Woking.

These points are explained in more detail below.

The Code of Conduct

You have certain key, ethical obligations under the Code.

You should never:

  • do anything which brings you, your office or the Council into disrepute

  • misuse your official position to your own advantage or to the advantage or disadvantage of others

  • do anything to compromise the impartiality of those who work for or on behalf of the Council

  • misuse the Council's resources or use them for party political purposes

You should always:

  • promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against others

  • treat others with respect

  • respect confidential information

  • have regard to the relevant advice of officers when reaching decisions

Libel, defamation or other claims for damages

An individual suffers defamation when a person publishes to a third party words or other matter containing an untrue allegation that is damaging to the individual's reputation. If the publication is "written down" (and this includes publication on a website), the defamation is called libel. Please be aware that, in claims of libel, the claimant does not have to prove that he or she has suffered loss or damage as a result of the publication, as damage is presumed. You should therefore take care never to publish material that could be construed as defamatory of individuals. If you do, you could be exposed to legal action, instituted against you personally. You should confine your comments to matters that arise in connection with your official role and that relate to issues of general public interest.

Data Protection

You may engage with the public in a number of ways, including the receipt of comments, enquiries or complaints via Window on Woking web pages. You may wish to refer to (or publish) material that is based upon information drawn from Woking Borough Council or obtained from external sources. If so, any personal information should be treated with care and respect for relevant data protection law.

You are required to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight enforceable principles of good practice. They say that data must be:

  • fairly and lawfully processed

  • processed for limited purposes

  • adequate, relevant and not excessive

  • accurate

  • not kept longer than necessary

  • processed in accordance with the data subject's rights

  • secure

  • not transferred to countries without adequate protection

Personal data covers both facts and opinions about the individual. It also includes information regarding the intentions of the data controller towards the individual. The definition of processing incorporates the concepts of 'obtaining', holding' and 'disclosing'.

Promotion of Political Parties or Campaigns

Window on Woking is funded by Woking Borough Council. Therefore, you may not use your Window on Woking weblogs and web pages for the following political purposes:

  • to promote political campaigns and advocate political stances on issues

  • to promote a political party or persons identified with a political party

  • to promote or oppose a view on a question of political controversy which is identifiable of the view of one political party and not of another

The following guidance is provided in the Secretary of State's Code of Practice on Local Authority Publicity:

"Publicity about individual councillors may include the contact details, the positions they hold in the Council (for example a member of the Executive or Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee) and their responsibilities. Publicity may also include information about individual councillors' proposals, decisions and recommendations only where this is relevant to their position and responsibilities within the council. All such publicity should be objective and explanatory and whilst it may acknowledge the part played by individual councillors as holders of particular positions in the council, personalisation of issues or personal image-making should be avoided.

Publicity should not be, or liable to misrepresentation as being, party political. Whilst it may be appropriate to describe policies put forward by an individual councillor which are relevant to her/his position and responsibilities within the council, and to put forward his/her justification in defence of them, this should not be done in party political terms, using political slogans, expressly advocating policies of those of a particular political party, or directly attacking policies and opinions of other parties, groups or individuals".

Elected Members may link to external websites of a political nature.

During election times (from the "notice of an election" to the election itself), Councillors weblogs and other pages they may add will be suspended. Contact details will remain on the website.

Keeping an Open Mind

If you are responsible for reaching decisions of a "quasi-judicial" nature, particularly in the fields of licensing and planning, you should never use the website in a way that gives the impression that your mind is made up on a particular issue.

Planning applications have to be determined in a particular way, that is to say having regard to the Development Plan and to other material considerations. Licensing applications have to be considered in the light of the licensing objectives and having regard to the representations and material placed before the hearing. You should not therefore predetermine these applications. You will be unable to make a fair determination, taking account of all relevant issues, if your mind is a completely closed book.

And Finally...

At all times, use the website in a way that is consistent with your councillor obligations. Pay heed to Code responsibilities and to your role as defined by Article 2 of the Council's Constitution. Encourage community participation and citizen involvement in decision-making. Respond to constituents' enquiries, fairly and impartially. Serve the public interest and take decisions having regard to the interests of the whole community.

Remember that web pages can be a useful tool for communication. If used correctly and responsibly, these facilities can help you represent the interests of your ward and of individual constituents more effectively, and allow you to contribute to the good governance of the area.