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Departments: Disciplinary Proceedings

Volume 463: debated on Tuesday 24 July 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in her Department have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in the last 12 months. (149196)

The Department has not conducted formal proceedings against any staff for inappropriate use of the internet while at work, or for using work telephones to access premium rate phone lines while at work, in the last 12 months.

Full details of Community and Local Government’s approach to the appropriate use of IT and telephones while at work are made available to all staff through the Department’s staff handbook. The rules make it clear that the inappropriate use of IT and telephones may constitute a disciplinary offence. Within Communities and Local Government, all users of the Department’s IT and telephones are required to make a personal commitment regarding appropriate use of the systems.