Dear Essex County Council,

1) Please provide copies of any material such as policies, memoranda or related documents concerning the personal usage of council IT equipment, the Internet and e-mail by council staff.
a) please supply any documents, e-mails or memoranda specifically relating to the use by staff of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

2) I am seeking to establish what policies Essex County Council have with regard to the manner in which their staff should conduct themselves in their private lives so as not to create a situation whereby their conduct or other activities were incompatible with their remaining employed by the council.
a) Please provide any material such as internal guidance that is issued specifically to Social Workers employed by Essex County Council

3) Please provide your disciplinary policy and (or) an extract from a blank contract of employment may include the information I require.
a) If different in any way or additional material exists, please provide what that relates to employees of Essex County Council with job titles where possessing a qualification of social work at degree level is essential

4) Once you have established which documents/policies provide this information, please confirm how and in what format these policies are communicated to staff so that they are in no doubt that certain types of conduct - even if carried out in their private life - would result in the termination of their employment for gross misconduct.

Yours faithfully,
Alison Melville