EAST BERGHOLT PARISH COUNCIL

Email Policy

East Bergholt Parish Council’s email policy aims to guide effective communication
using email format for all parish councillors and the clerk.

The Council does not provide councillors with separate email addresses for council
business so they must use their private email addresses. When conducting council
business by this means, councillors must adhere to all the rules and protocols
attaching to their email systems and to this policy.

When conducting email correspondence on council business, councillors are acting
in their official capacity and the Council’s code of conduct applies. This policy forms
part of the code of conduct and breach of this policy by a councillor is a breach of the
code of conduct.

When using e-mail to correspond with other councillors, the parish clerk, residents,
Babergh District Council or Suffolk County Council it should be done with regard to
the following –

Risks:
• Breach of data protection
• Summons for presentation to tribunals/courts
• Disclosure under Freedom of Information request
• Disenfranchise the public by conducting business remotely
• Non-compliance with democratic process

Do not:
• use language that could offend, discriminate or cause embarrassment
• discuss business that should be seen/heard by the public
• write about matters declared to be confidential
• infringe copyright
• enter into contractual commitment or make representations by email unless
appropriate authority has been obtained
• send emails which you would not want a third party to read
• make statement(s) which is/are likely to create any liability for you or the
Council

Etiquette:
• do not write in capitals
• use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation
• use appropriate terminology at start and end of text
• be polite and respectful
• use basic courtesy
• do not ‘bully’ or ‘harass’
• where possible use initials, rather than full names to protect identities
• cc all emails to info@eastbergholtpc.co.uk