Alongside the rules for the official campaign groups on how they can act, what money they can spend and what publicity they are able to put out, the next 28 days also sees a change in the role of the Civil Service in supporting the Government over the question of the UK’s membership of the European Union. Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has now issued guidance for the period leading up to the EU vote. Over the next 28 days, Ministers will not be able to call on civil servants for referendum-related publicity, help write speeches for the campaign, organise referendum events, put out new arguments or provide other similar support. The overall message of the guidance is similar to other guidance issued before local and European elections and before the Scottish referendum, and the Civil Service Code, that ‘public resources are not used for party political purposes’ and that civil servants should not ‘undertake any activity which could call into question their political impartiality’. However, there are a few areas where the guidance is focused on some of the key concerns that have been expressed about the role of the Civil Service more generally in supporting the government over […]

Original source – Blog

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