§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what regulations, codes of practice and or guidelines govern the party political activity of senior paid employees, including chief executives and directors, of Scottish Enterprise and enterprise companies; how these differ from those which govern principal and chief officers of local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 21 April 1994]: The party political activities of all Scottish Enterprise employees, including the staff and chief executives of local enterprise companies, are constrained by the conditions of their employment as set out in the code of conduct on political activities contained in the employees' handbook provided by Scottish Enterprise.
The code of conduct provides that staff are free to participate in political activities providing such activity does not interfere with the employee's work or take place in working time or on Scottish Enterprise premises, and providing it has the approval of his or her employers. In particular, staff who participate in political activities are required to make it clear that they are doing so in a personal capacity, to refrain from making public use of confidential information gained through their employment, and to refrain from commenting on any policy relating to the activities of their employer.
The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 introduced disqualification and political restrictions on certain officials within local government on the basis that it has long been accepted by successive Governments that senior local government officers should be, and be seen to be, politically impartial. In addition to the provisions contained in the 1989 Act, various regulations have been made, including the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990 and the Local Government (Politically Restricted Posts) Regulations 1990, as amended. Essentially, the effect of the legislation is that local government officers will be subject to similar, although somewhat less restrictive, rules to those which already apply to civil servants.