Flag Protocol
Roles and responsibilities
Leader of the council
Requests to fly any flags outside of this protocol (i.e., outside appendix B) must be agreed by the Leader of the Council.
Council Directors
Requests to fly flags outside the protocol must first be approved by the Service Director for Policy & Comms, the Assistant Chief Executive, and the Chief Executive – this includes both during office hours and outside office hours, before a decision is sought from the Leader of the Council.
Where the Chief Executive is not available, this responsibility falls to the Duty Director; If the Duty Director is not available, then any other member of CMT.
Service Director for Policy and Communications or Policy Team
During office hours
During office hours (Monday–Friday, 9:00–17:00); the Policy Team will coordinate flag activity with the Facilities Team.
The Service Director for Policy and Communications and the Policy Team will receive notifications, via email or formal announcement, regarding any required changes to flag arrangements.
If permission is needed to initiate elements of the flag protocol (e.g. flying flags at half-mast), the policy team will seek approval from the Service Director for Policy and Communications, Assistant Chief Executive, and Chief Executive (or the Duty Director if out of hours); once granted, the Policy Team will inform the Leader of the Council
Once permission has been granted; the Policy Team will instruct the Facilities Team as per the in-hours telephone tree - to implement the required flag arrangements and if necessary and also inform the Communications Team, who will manage internal and external messaging.
Outside of office hours
Outside office hours; responsibility for notifications will fall to designated individuals as outlined in the out-of-hours telephone tree.
Any non-standard flag activity will require approval from the following if not already covered by Operation Oak or Operation Bridge:
- Service Director for Policy and Communications
- Assistant Chief Executive
- Duty Corporate Director (if ACE and SD Policy & Comms unavailable); or an
- Appropriate member of the Corporate Management Team (CMT)
Flag replacement
The Policy Team are responsible for the replacement (payment only) of all recognised flags (appendix B). Jointly with Facilities, they will observe the quality of flags and request replacement when required.
Facilities management
The Facilities Team will ensure that all flag changes are carried out uniformly and in compliance across council sites.
They will confirm planned changes to flag status with the Policy Team and Service Director for Policy & Comms or the Duty Director if the Service Director for Policy & Comms is not available.
They will also be responsible for the storage, maintenance, replacement (ordering), and dignified disposal of flags.
Flags will be kept in good condition, free from tears or blemishes, through periodic checks by designated flag keepers.
Repairs will be arranged through preferred suppliers.
They will monitor the condition of the flags when they are raised and lowered and proactively contact The Policy team to secure permission (funding) to replace flags when they need replacing.
Disposal of flags will follow guidance from the Flag Institute, with acceptable methods including burning, tearing, or cutting into unrecognisable strips.
They will conduct a flag inventory once a year to assess the condition and numbers of flags at different locations and report their findings to the Policy team.
Communications
The Communications Team will prepare and issue relevant external communications.
They will also manage any necessary internal messaging.