Social Networking Rutland Parish Forum.
A Exton Parish Councillor reported at last night parish council meeting the following 'Geoff Pook advises Councillors should not blog whatever that is?'
This morning I followed this up and obtained a copy of Rutland County Council Parish Forum Minutes
Advice was given but not in such a blunt fashion.
Mr. Geoff Pook, Head of Legal and Democratic Services, Rutland County Council, gave a presentation on Social Networking. This included:
Definitions, including the distinction between blogging (an individuals web-based means of communication) and social networking (a community's web based means of communication). Examples of social networking included Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.
The Code of Conduct would always be engaged in situations where the activity was sponsored by the local authority (whether at county, town or parish level). It may be engaged in situations where the activity was sponsored by an individual. Where the activity was anonymous, the Code might still be engaged but there would clearly be evidential problems.
An important distinction was whether a blog was designed for private or political purposes, and thus the target audience. A statement to clarify the purpose could be included on the site for the sake of clarity.
A number of accepted conduct principles existed to govern issues such as disclosure of confidential information, disrepute, use of resources, other online activities and human rights. The ten general principles of public life also prevailed: selflessness, honour and integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, personal judgement, respect for others, duty to uphold the law, stewardship, leadership. Other issues to be taken into account included libel, bias and pre-determination, copyright, data protection and obscene material.
During discussion, it was also noted that:
Common sense should help to guide actions in most cases
Normal purdah rules also applied during election periods;
A checklist of requirements could be made available on request.
rutland county council T:\jointbodies\paris council forum \ notes \ 2010 \ 6 Sept 2010 doc
