Policies & Procedures

The Parish Council resolved to where possible communicate using e-mail in order to reduce administration costs and to use e-mail as a means of communication between members of the council, the general public and other authorities and local organisations.

The protocol for use of e-mail for council business has been resolved as follows:

• Councillors will receive minutes and agendas by electronic means were possible and hard copy of documents to be provided to members if they have no e-mail facility.
• Resolutions of the parish council can only be made at meetings of the full council and the parish council committees.
• NO resolutions can be made by round robin e-mails. If an urgent decision is required, then an Extra Ordinary meeting is to be called as appropriate.
• ALL council emails are confidential to the parish council members and the Clerk to the Council.
• Emails are NOT to be copied to any third parties at any time without a resolution of the full council or council committees as appropriate.
• Information distributed by e-mail should not be used by any member for their personal use and only for council business as authorised by the full council.
• E-mails are not to be posted on any social media sites at any time or released to the press without a resolution of the full council.
• Councillors must not blind copy in any recipients. All recipients of the emails must be shown.
• E-mails will be stored for a period of at least one year by the Clerk to the Council if referring to matters relating to legal issues, events or when deemed appropriate.
• Hard copies of e-mails to be held when deemed appropriate.
• Staff Matters should not be discussed by e-mail at any time due to the Data Protection Act
• Staff Issues should only be discussed in a Closed and Confidential Meeting of the Personnel Committee or full council meeting if the Chairman of the Personnel Committee deems it to be appropriate.

Adopted by the full council MAY 2017