Territorial extent of policy announcements and press releases

Dear Cabinet Office,

In light of devolution - now that Whitehall is increasingly
concerned with England alone - I am interested in discovering if
there are any cross-governmental guidelines when it comes to
specifiying the territorial extent of policy announcements and
press releases.

Please could you provide me with any rules or guidelines that have
been issued to departments relating to whether reference should be
made to England (ie. "This press notice relates to 'England'") in
departmental policy statements and press releases (or similar
documents), or about how such territorial references should be
dealt with.

Yours faithfully,

Gareth Young

Dear Yasmine,

I've looked through the information that you've pointed me towards
and I can't find reference to any guidlines on specifying the
territorial extent of policy in announcements and press releases.

For example, this foreword by Gordon Brown, the territorial extent
of which is England, he never mentions England.

http://www.hmg.gov.uk/workingtogether/fo...

There are numerous examples like this on various government
websites. A minister might be talking about 'schools in this
country' or 'our NHS' without specifying whether he is talking
about schools in England or schools across the whole of Britain, or
the NHS in England or all four Health Services. The same applies to
policing, transport, environment, or any matter in which competence
has been wholly or partially devolved.

Is there any guidance for politicians and public servants on this
matter, so that they are clearer about what territory it is that
they are talking about?

Best,

Gareth Young