New Parish Council Communications Policy

Enthusiastic readers of AudlemOnline may have noticed earlier this month, in our report on February's Audlem Parish Council meeting, a reference to a new Communications Policy.

Our reporter wondered whether this was, in fact, a gagging order on Councillors or a genuine attempt to improve communication with residents.

Our report then added: "Perhaps some clue may come from the fact that the Chairman reminded Councillors that no communication should take place with the public, newspapers, websites etc without the agreement of the Council!"

As AudlemOnline has always enjoyed its chats with parish councillors in the pub and elsewhere, we wondered if we would have to be extremely careful in future conversations in case we compromised the new rules! As a result, we were keen to see the new policy.

It was only yesterday that we noticed, purely by chance, that it had been published, without any announcement, in the deeper recesses of the Parish Council section of this website under 'Miscellaneous Documents'. As we suspect few if any members of the public will have found it, we have copied it and it can be read by clicking on the PDF below the photo.

It may be timely to point out that just as AudlemOnline is totally independent of the parish council editorially, the parish council section on this website is controlled entirely by the council. AudlemOnline's editor, quite rightly, has no more access to this section than other members of the public.

It's a curious document, much of it sensible, and not quite as draconian as we feared. For example, it does not describe the punishments that will be meted out to parish councillors who do speak too openly to us or, heaven forbid, members of the public. And fortunately, the parish council has not, as yet, set up a "Control & Enforcement' sub-committee.

The policy does say, however that "an individual councillor cannot respond to enquiries outside of Parish Council meetings other than to acknowledge such an enquiry. Nor can an individual councillor, including the chairman, make a decision or respond on behalf of the Parish Council."

It is a policy that does lay the PC open to some gentle teasing. For example, we feel a little for the spouses and partners of parish councillors who ask politely, when a councillor returns from the monthly meeting, how it went. The reply might now be: "Personally, I found it enthralling, but that is only a personal opinion. For an official parish council view you should contact the parish clerk, who will check with members of the parish council and you will receive a response in due course."

We jest, of course, but we cannot help wondering why, after years without, as we know, any serious communications issues, such a detailed policy was thought necessary. We have heard from sources – and our sources will never be revealed – that there was concern expressed by some councillors about an article we published a month ago about the new CCTV cameras recently installed, even though all the information was correct, did not compromise security and had been given at an earlier parish council meeting, and was therefore in the public domain. Maybe our only fault was checking the facts before publication with councillors who had been involved in the installation.

The policy does confirm that the Parish Council will not respond to enquiries or comments made via social media (including AudlemOnline's Chatbox) saying: "If residents wish to raise an issue with the Parish Council, they should communicate directly through the Parish Clerk as outlined under Correspondence above."

AudlemOnline has attended the vast majority of parish council meetings after the council asked us to raise their profile back in 2011. Given the very quiet, indeed almost 'uncommunicative' way in which their new Communications Policy was issued, we wonder if that enthusiasm for a higher profile still stands. We do hope, however, to continue our friendly chats with those members of the council who feel it is safe to do so.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.