We have received clarification that we are allowed to reproduce our speeches in the Assembly Chamber, no matter how party political. This means of course that we can carry party political content on our websites, so the guidance is now self-contradictory:
Fair and accurate verbatim accounts of what was said by you or others in Assembly proceedings may be included, irrespective of content.
PeterI love all this back-pedalling. Must be lonely when only you and Dafydd El really support the guidance.Unfortunately the Guidance is more than Guidance. It explicitly states: The Guidance in fact states that it ‘sets out the rules that must be followed if you use your Office Costs Allowance (OCA) to pay for setting up and/or running a website.’I notice you proudly boast 'Personally, I pay the costs of my website out of my own pocket. The use of blogspot is free. If AMs want to be free of restriction, no matter how limited, then they can follow suit.'Yet you blog from the Chamber using Assembly-provided computers and Assembly-funded Internet access. Since your blog is unashamedly party political it Looks like you are in breach of that other Guidance - on use of Assembly resources - then.
Posted by: Leighton Andrews | Monday, 19 May 2008 at 07:00
Ultimately Leighton it was only ever guidance. How it is interpreted is up to you. The comeback however is that at some stage the Standards Committee may be called on to adjudicate on a complaint. It is at that stage that the guidance is fully tested.
Posted by: Peter Black | Monday, 19 May 2008 at 07:00