EHDC Councillor Briefing

East Hampshire District Council sent this bulletin at 04-10-2012 08:43 AM BST
Councillors Newsletter
Issue 5
October 2012
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Purdah in force for Police and Crime Commissioner Election

Let us know
If you have any items you would like to see added to the Cllr Newsletter please email them to cllrbriefing@easthants.gov.uk
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On November 15 the Police and Crime Commissioner Election is to take place. As with any  election the publicity restrictions of purdah  will be in place for six weeks running up to and including polling day.
 
During this period, which will begin on October 8, councils have to be especially vigilant to     ensure that no publicity undertaken by or on    behalf of the Council, or which might be attributed to the Council, has any appearance of promoting any particular party or candidate.

This is laid down in the Code of Recommended Practice of Local Authority Publicity.
 
As a result, proactive council communications, including press releases, will be scaled back and those released should not involve a councillor. The code does allow for Councillors to comment on 'important events outside the authority's control.   
 
In brief, the rules of purdah ensure that:

  • public resources aren't used for party political purposes
  • no communications activity takes place which could call into question the authority's political impartiality
  • authorities should consider deferring new announcements until after the elections, particularly if they have a 'local' element
  • authorities should scrutinise their website content prior to publication and, in the main should add only factual information or correct inaccuracies
  • authorities should take special care over paid-for publicity campaigns and ensure that publicity can't be said to be undertaken for party political purposes

For more information on the Police and Crime Commissioner election contact: Lianne Hall on 01730 234370
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EHDC staff dressed as heroes for National Heroes Day last year, with Robin Hollington,
whose son Richard died in Afghanistan

Calling all the heroes - National Heroes Day


East Hampshire District Council will be filled with heroes on October 19 as staff once again support a national servicemen's charity by dressing up as their hero. 

National Heroes Day had tremendous support last year across the country with many thousands of people taking part, including staff from EHDC.

The event will be held on Friday 19 October 2012 and raises money for the charity Help for Heroes.  People take part by dressing up as their favourite hero - whether that is Superman, David Beckham, Mo Farah, an inspirational figure from your life or a member of the Armed Forces.

During the day there will be a cake sale and quiz in the Development Control Office at Penns Place.
  
Anyone willing to provide a cake or a prize for this worthy cause please email the organiser Aaron Wright, Senior Development Control Planner, at aaron.wright@havant.gov.uk.
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Butserfest - the best yet!


On Saturday 15 September, councillors, staff, and their families worked with people from various other organisations to make Butserfest 2012 the best yet.

Whilst the project has been led by the Community team at East Hampshire District Council, staff from all areas of the council have been involved in its success. The Butserfest team would like to thank everyone who got involved with this year's festival.

The sixth year of the alcohol/drug-free festival saw people from as far away as Belfast and Aberdeen attending the festival to see up-and-coming bands.

Solent University provided a film crew for the main stage as well as technical crew for the second stage. Videos from the event will be on the Butserfest YouTube channel very soon.

Feedback on the Butserfest Facebook and Twitter pages has been amazingly positive and the Community team is looking to build on this success for next year.

BUTSERFEST 2012 BY NUMBERS
  • 1,561 tickets were sold for Butserfest 2012
  • 102 people volunteered on the day
  • 5,020 people like the Butserfest Facebook page
  • 1,502 people follow @butserfest on Twitter
  • 8,638 people have visited butserfest.co.uk since it went live in March

Tickets for Butserfest 2013 have already gone on sale for the Super-Early Bird price of £15 (plus booking fee) and will be available until Monday 15 October 2012.

To find out more, go to www.butserfest.co.uk or contact Lucy Soal on 01730 234185

Statement of Accounts are the 'best ever'says auditor
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The external auditor has reported no significant issues with the 2011/12 Statement of Accounts at EHDC.

At the Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting the auditor said the accounts were the best ever for the district.

The statement of accounts is the culmination of  the three month closing process and is predominantly written by Kevin Harlow. 
The Statement, which is over 75 pages long, is a deeply technical document, understood by few and involving great complexity. 

To close at all in the timescale is a serious achievement but to close with such a good external audit review is excellent news and indicative of the hard work and dedication of both our teams. 

Lead Officer: Jane Eaton - Telephone: 02392 446305 or 01730 234035