European and County Council Elections

On June 6^th 2009 there will be European and County Council elections. Your school may or may not be used for polling that day, but we need to make you aware of the slight possibility that you will be approached by a candidate or a political party asking to use your school's meeting space for an election meeting. Candidates' entitlement to the use of publicly funded accommodation within an area to hold election meetings is enshrined in the Representation of the People Act. Electoral Registration Officers in the Districts must have a list of such premises and it is quite clear that schools come under this category. We have supplied the District Councils with a link to the 'Schools Finder' page on our website so that if they are approached they can provide the candidate with the information they are entitled to.

What to do if you are approached?

Candidates wishing to use rooms in schools or other community buildings will usually make applications directly to the County Council. However, they may approach you directly.

The County Council is responsible for use of rooms in maintained schools, and if you are a Head of a maintained school, and approached directly with a request for use of your meeting space please contact Julia Idiens in Children's Services who will then liaise with you over the request: Tel: 01603 433276 extn. 162.

In the case of Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools, if a request comes directly to you, then you should refer it to your governing body which is responsible for making the decision. We will, of course, be very happy to provide guidance if required, so please do not hesitate to contact Julia Idiens in the first instance. If a request is made directly to the County Council, such applications will be referred to you for consideration by your governing body.

You will see from the briefing note produced by the Local Government Information Unit that there limited grounds for refusal and rather than go into great detail here, we will explain this further if a request is made. We have attached the guidance purely for information.

Finally, there is very little likelihood of your school being used, but we need to be prepared for the possibility.