Hammersmith and Fulham councillors will now have a clearer policy for accessing council systems while working abroad, following a decision by the General Purpose Committee. The new policy, approved on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, acknowledges that the role of a councillor is often 24/7 and may require access to emails and briefings when members are on holiday.
The policy allows councillors to access their emails and take briefings while overseas. The term 'working abroad' in this context implies access to council systems while a councillor is on holiday or outside of their usual working environment, though a precise definition or scope is not provided.
Provisions are included for updating the policy in light of potential cyber threats. The council stated that If we know of any major threats then we will have to quickly update it. That would mean that we will be either including or excluding some countries from the list barring members from accessing our data from those areas.
Specific criteria or circumstances for these exclusions were not detailed.
During the discussion, clarification was provided that while councillors can access emails on their personal phones, they should not use VPNs to access the council network. The council confirmed its ability to remotely disable access to systems if a breach of the policy occurs, stating, we actually can have a lock to the house down, so sure. Okay. We have the ability to shut down people accessing the headquarters they have.
If a councillor breaches the policy, the disciplinary section
will be amended from disciplinary action
to monitoring officer to consider the implementation under the members' code of conduct
to better reflect the distinction between councillors and employees.
Councillor Callum Nimmo, Chair of the General Purpose Committee, noted that the policy has already seen 11 applications. A review is scheduled in one year to assess the policy's effectiveness.
The policy was discussed as part of the General Purpose Committee meeting on September 16, 2026. Further details can be found in the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet.