Elections to the European Parliament, 4 June 2009:
Guidance on conduct for Scottish Government civil servants
1. Elections to the European Parliament will be held on Thursday, 4 June 2009. This note contains guidance to Scottish Government civil servants on their role and conduct during the 2009 European election campaign. It comes into operation on Thursday, 14 May.
2. This guidance is being made public by being placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) and on the Scottish Government website.
3. The European elections raise different issues from those which arise at Scottish Parliamentary elections. The Scottish Government will remain in office whatever the outcome and all the business of Government will continue. There is therefore no suggestion that Scottish Government business should be put on general hold during the European election period. Particular care is however, needed during this period in relation to business with a European dimension. Staff should also note that routine business with a European dimension not usually considered to be newsworthy is likely to be of greater interest during the election period.
4. The principles underlying the conduct of civil servants during the election campaign are simply an extension of those which apply all the time and are set out in the Civil Service Code and the Scottish Ministerial Code. The basic principle is that civil servants should not undertake any activity which could call into question their political impartiality or could give rise to the criticism that public resources are being used for Party political purposes. The application of these principles needs to be particularly sensitive during an election period.
5. It is important therefore that civil servants take particular care during the election period to ensure that they conduct themselves in accordance with the Civil Service Code. In particular, civil servants are under an obligation:
¨ Not to undertake any activity which could call into question their political impartiality;
¨ To ensure that public resources are not used for Party political purposes; and
¨ To exercise particular care in relation to the announcement of sensitive decisions with a European dimension, and in relation to paid publicity campaigns.
6. The general convention is that particular care should be taken in the 3 weeks preceding the election; in this case, from 14 May 2009. Directorates will therefore wish to take this into account in the forward planning of activities and announcements.
General Principles
7. The following general principles should be observed by all civil servants (including Special Advisers, who are temporary civil servants):
(a) There should be even-handedness in meeting information requests from candidates from different political parties. Such requests and responses should be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. In the election period departments should respond to such requests within 24 hours where possible;
(b) Particular care should be taken over official support, and the use of public resources, including publicity, for Ministerial announcements which have a bearing on matters relevant to the European elections. In some cases it may be better to defer an announcement until after the elections but this would need to be balanced carefully against any implication that deferral could itself influence the political outcome - each case should be considered on its merits;
(c) Examples where particular care should be exercised include Ministerial announcements about any aspect of policy which has a strong European dimension, including (but not limited to): the allocation of bids for European Union funding; sensitive announcements on fisheries policy; European Structural Funds; the potential impact of EU enlargement, EU Energy policy, and the EU's Economic Recovery Plan;
(d) Similar care should be taken over announcements of decisions made at official level;
(e) Special care should be taken in respect of paid publicity campaigns which should not be open to criticism that they are being undertaken for Party political purposes.
Ministerial Visits
8. Official support must not be given to visits and events with a Party political or campaigning purpose.
Media
9. This section applies to all staff, and in particular to the Scottish Government Communications Directorate. In presenting Government policy and providing publicity and marketing / advertising material during the period of the election campaign - whether on paper, electronically or via other media - civil servants should continue to take their customary care to conform with the publicity conventions set out in the Guidance on the Work of the Government Information Service which require that their activities should:
¨ Be relevant to Government responsibilities;
¨ Be objective and explanatory;
¨ Not be, and not be liable to misrepresentation as being, party political;
¨ Be conducted in an economic and appropriate way, having regard to the need to be able to justify the costs as expenditure of public funds.
10. The Scottish Government website and other official websites will be scrutinised closely by the news media and the political parties during the election period and particular care should be given to the appropriateness of posting material during the election period.
11. Where there is doubt, further guidance should be sought from Andrew Baird, Head of News, or Roger Williams, Head of Marketing and New Media, as appropriate.
Political Activities
12. Political activity connected with the European Parliamentary elections falls within the definition of national political activity.
13. General rules on the restrictions on civil servants' involvement in national and local political activities are set out in the Political Activity section of the Conduct pages published on the Scottish Government Intranet, and in Section 4.4 of the Civil Service Management Code. Staff intending to participate in the European election campaign should make sure that they are familiar with the guidance. Further guidance and advice are available from the Human Resources Shared Service Centre (telephone: 0131 244 8500; e-mail: HR.Help@scotland.gsi.gov.uk).
Special Advisers
14. The restrictions on Special Advisers' involvement in national political activities are set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. For the European elections, Special Advisers who wish to take part in the election campaign, or to help with these elections in a Party headquarters or research unit, must first resign their appointment. Special Advisers who resign in these circumstances will not be entitled to severance pay, as their resignation is voluntary. In respect of the European Parliamentary elections, Special Advisers who remain in post must be careful not to take any public part in the campaign. They should not, for example, accompany Ministers on campaign visits or brief the press on election-related party political issues. Nor can this activity be done on unpaid leave. However, in an individual's own time, backroom support and liaison with the Party are permitted.
Statistical Activities
15. During the election period, statistical activities should continue to be conducted in accordance with the National Statistics Code of Practice and the accompanying protocols on news releases. Additional guidance on release of statistics and of other analytical services outputs is available on the Statistician Group Intranet site. Requests for information should continue to be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. For further guidance on analytical services activities, please consult the relevant Chief Professional Officer or the Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat.
Non-Departmental Public Bodies
16. NDPBs and other public sector bodies spend public money, may make public announcements and, in some cases, employ civil servants. Decisions on individual matters are for the bodies concerned. However, where there is doubt over whether some proposed action is appropriate during the election period NDPBs should consult their sponsor Directorate, who will wish to consider whether proposed activities would reflect adversely on the work of the NDPB or reduce public confidence in it.
Further Advice
17. In cases of doubt, further advice should be sought from Rebecca Winterstein on 0131 244 7926 or Robin Benn on 0131 244 6933 in Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat.
Cabinet and Corporate Business Secretariat
Strategy and Ministerial Support Directorate
Scottish Government
March 2009