Address: 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SP, Registered Charity 1140900 | Registered in England No 07525114, Providers deliver: resilient and resourceful through COVID-19, Digital Boards: Building and enabling digital teams, Securing the right support for ambulance services, Letter to Jeremy Hunt MP on the white paper on health and social care. National announcements by the UK Government may also have a particular impact on local areas with elections, for example, the publication of policy statements which have a specific local dimension. [citation needed]. Paid-for advertising must comply with the Advertising Standards Authoritys Advertising Codes. Ministers will wish to be aware of the potential sensitivities in this regard and might decide, on advice, to postpone making certain announcements until after the elections. It meant that the council, in putting out the tweet, could be in breach of purdah rules. It is important to remember that this applies to online communication such as social media, in the same way as other activity. This will apply to: In Scotland, elections will be held in all 32 local authorities. While Mr Houchen isn't up for re-election today, many Hartlepool councillors are. publish factual information to counteract misleading, controversial or extreme (for example, racist/sexist) information. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The code mentions at the outset that it in no way detracts from the section 2 offence of the Act. Its a double-edged sword: some favoured projects will get kicked into the long grass, never to see the light of day again. Su. It is the six week, pre-election period - which begin on this occasion on March 21 - between the announcement of an election and the date the election is held. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. eCount bulletins for the 2022 Scottish Local Government Elections . From the start of the pre-election period, the council must comply with restrictions outlined in Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986. It is the intention of the Welsh Government to bring forward legislation to permanently move the term of office for local government elected members to Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Darren Hughes responds to the latest NHS performance statistics in Wales. The by-election is a needless expense for the cash-strapped council that has been caused by Tory Mayor Jason Perry putting himself She tweeted: "Riiight. Do not publish any publicity on controversial issues or report views on proposals in a way which identifies them with candidates or parties. Find out more about becoming a Herefordshire Particular care should be taken over official support, and the use of public resources, including publicity, for government announcements that could have a bearing on matters relevant to the elections. 33 organisations come together to ask Welsh Government ministers how they are working with officials to reduce the impact of inequalities and poverty. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. However this general principle is subject to any statutory provision which authorises expenditure being incurred on the publication of material designed to influence the public as to whether to support or oppose a question put at a referendum. Its likely to be similar to the guidance in 2013. Similarly, national announcements by the UK Government may have a particular impact on Northern Ireland. However, in doing so, the basic test of whether the visit is for government purposes must be satisfied. It is important to note that pre-election rules restrict activity wider than just publicity. The 2017 local elections marked the emergence of the Scottish Conservatives as the second largest party in local government in Scotland, echoing the partys successes south of the border in England and Wales. Despite historically seeing a lower turnout and less intensity than general elections, local council elections provide a key chance for members of the public to effect tangible, on the ground change in their local community. 2023 local elections A number of councils will have elections on Thursday 4 May 2023. It is still possible for the council to issue statements on behalf of a councillor holding a key political or civic position provided it relates to important events which are outside the councils control and can be shown to justify a member response. 9 March 2021 In this collection 2022 2021 2019 2022 Local government elections 2022: guidance for Welsh Government staff 3 March 2022 Guidance 2021 Elections to Senedd Cymru May 2021: guidance for Welsh Government officials 9 March 2021 Guidance 2019 Conduct during the UK general election 2019 26 November 2019 The Government published a Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity in 2011. In the case of NHS property, decisions are for the relevant NHS body, but should visits be permitted to, for example, hospitals, it should be on the basis that there is no disruption to services and that the same facilities are available to all candidates. Labour Party incumbent Sadiq Khan is The rules applies to all communications, including social media. These elections will take place on Thursday 4 May 2023. Particular care should be taken in relation to any such appointments, and consideration given to postponing the appointment process where it has the potential to be controversial. Launch large-scale PR campaigns during this period. In cases of doubt, in the first instance you should consult your Permanent Secretarys Office. We analyse the latest monthly performance data from NHS England and feature a case study from University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The electoral system used to elect local councillors is Single Transferable Vote (STV), which requires voters to rank candidates in order of preference with 1 being the highest. There should be even-handedness in meeting information requests from the different political parties and campaigning groups. . Background The next PCC Elections are due to take place in May 2020. For local elections in England and Wales, the activities of local authorities in the pre-election period are governed by the Recommended code of practice for local authority publicity, Circular 01/2011, issued as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1986. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. Requests for information should be handled in accordance with the principles set out at the beginning of this note and with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Campaigning efforts are already underway across many local authorities in Scotland, with purdah starting roughly three weeks before local elections and from April 14 this year. It should be read in conjunction with any guidance produced by your own returning officer or monitoring officer, which provides specific advice depending on your local circumstances. It is acceptable to publish material relating to the subject matter of a referendum, for example to correct any factual inaccuracies which have appeared in publicity produced by third parties, so long as this is even-handed and objective and does not support or oppose any of the options which are the subject of the vote. An example might be a campaign on an issue which has been subject of local political debate and/or disagreement. This briefing sets out NHS Providers overall position on the Bill and our view on amendments 3 and 4. This effectively means not undertaking publicity or consultation events for those consultations that are still in progress, and which have a particular emphasis on: (a) Northern Ireland issues, or (b) local issues, or (c) impact on areas where elections are being held. For example, it is unlawful for anyone to do any of the following within 250 metres of a polling station: Orally tell someone how they should vote. Official support must not be given to visits and events with a party political or campaigning purpose. Continue to run campaign material to support your own local campaigns. 7am to 10pm on Thursday 5 May 2022. If there are exceptional circumstances where launching a consultation is considered essential (for example, for safeguarding public health), advice should be sought from your Permanent Secretarys office (who may then seek advice from the Cabinet Office - see relevant paragraph). WebThe next full local elections in East Suffolk will be held on Thursday 4 May 2023. The essential points from the code are: Publicity is defined as any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public. If in doubt, always refer to Cabinet Office guidance (PDF). Launch any new consultations. Confine your communication activities and announcements to those necessary for the safety and quality of patient care. The pre-election period (informally known as 'purdah') begins with the publication of the Notice of Election for an election, and runs until the election has taken place. Official resources must not be used in support of the elections. Mr Shapps accused the mayor of breaching purdah rules and claimed: This announcement is an act of breathtaking political cynicism by the mayor, breaking election rules on such announcements in an effort to garner votes the day before the local elections in London. In such cases you should stop or defer them. Publicity is defined as any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public.. Join us at Manchester Central as we and NHS England unite health and care leaders and their teams at one of the biggest health and care conferences. David Camerons government lost by 27 votes to the MPs who argued that Downing Street was trying to unduly influence the result in favour of staying in the EU. For example, allowing certain public awareness activities that could be deemed party political including open board discussions on future strategy, market research and public rallies, and producing election materials or canvassing. What you should and shouldn't do during the pre-election period. Allow party political meetings to take place on your organisations premises. General Elections in the UK are strictly regulated. #BensBoondoggles#CrabKiller. But in the run-up to the UK referendum on leaving the EU, even this became politically charged, with some Eurosceptic Tory politicians arguing, successfully, that the government should not change the purdah rules. Gordon Brown therefore remained a temporary Prime Minister until a Government could be formed. Do these What does Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen have to say about it? Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. A number of councils will have elections on Thursday 4 May 2023. Transport for London, which is controlled by the mayor, revealed on Wednesday that the long-awaited London-spanning rail link, which will connect the centre of London to Berkshire in the west and Essex in the east, will finally open on May 24. During the period between the notice of an election and the election itself, local authorities should not publish any publicity on controversial issues or report views or proposals in such a way that identifies them with any individual members or groups of members. WebThe election will take place the same day as elections to the London Assembly, as well as local elections across England and Wales. Purdah, which comes from the Hindustani word (Hindi: or Urdu: , pard) means curtain or veil. 5 April 2022 The pre-election period (previously referred to as purdah) refers to the period shortly before an election or referendum when specific restrictions In general, authorities should not issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters, ensure that publicity relating to policies and proposals from central government is balanced and factually accurate, and comply with laws which prohibit political advertising on television or radio. Publicity relating to individuals involved directly in the election should not be published by local authorities during this period unless expressly authorised by or under statute. Care also needs to be taken in relation to the announcement of UK Government decisions which could have a bearing on the elections. Insiders to the Brown camp after the 2010 election describe him as being desperate to do something proactive, but being reminded by the Civil Service of his responsibilities under Purdah. 2017s local election results saw the SNP lose seven of their council seats and one local authority altogether, but the party also declared a historic victory in gaining Glasgow City Council from Scottish Labour. to ensure that public resources are not used for party political purposes; and. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). In doing so, civil servants will wish to be aware of the need to avoid any action that is, or could be construed as being, party political or otherwise controversial in the context of the elections. A pre election period in local government ends on the close of polls which, for ordinary elections, is usually on the first Thursday in May. Undertake any activity that could be considered politically controversial or influential, or could give rise to criticism that public resources are being used for party political/campaigning purposes.
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