6. HOUSE STATIONERY AND POSTAGE
PURPOSE OF FACILITY
A cash-limited provision of House stationery and
pre-paid envelopes is made available to Members for their parliamentary
duties.
ELIGIBILITY
Each Member is entitled to a total sum each year
which includes the cost of the various types of stationery and
the postage costs of pre-paid envelopes.
APPROPRIATE USE OF STATIONERY AND PRE-PAID ENVELOPES
More specific guidance can be found in the booklet
"The Communications Allowance and the use of House stationery"
[link].
PRE-PAID
ENVELOPES
Pre-paid envelopes are designed to enable you to
reply to letters or other contacts you receive, and to write to
individuals and organisations in pursuit of your parliamentary
duties. They should not be used to send mail to people on issues
on which they have not previously contacted you. You can use stationery
and pre-paid envelopes to respond to contacts you have received
through any medium.
Pre-paid envelopes may not be used to transmit mail
intended generally to inform your constituents about your work
as a Member. Such communications may be funded through Communications
Expenditure.
Examples of the proper use of pre-paid envelopes
include:
- administrative correspondence
enabling you to run your office, such as current working documents
sent between Westminster and the constituency
- correspondence with Members
or staff of either House, where this cannot be sent using the
internal mail system
- correspondence with public
bodies in the United Kingdom such as Government Departments, Agencies
and NDPBs, devolved legislatures, local authorities, and international
organisations, where this cannot be sent using the IDS
- correspondence with constituents
in connection with an issue on which they have previously contacted
you.
Pre-paid envelopes may only be used to send updates
to constituents on an ongoing basis where the updates relate to
specific cases (such as the progress on asylum applications).
Pre-paid envelopes may not be used to send general updates.
Pre-paid envelopes must not be used:
- for correspondence of a personal
or commercial nature
- for correspondence to or on
behalf of All-Party Groups which include persons who are not Members
of either House
- in connection with fund-raising
for the benefit of a political party or supporting the return
of any person to public office
- for internal mail
- for mail sent from the House
of Commons to Government Department addresses within the M25 system
(which should be fully addressed marked 'VIA IDS' and posted in
an Internal Mail posting box without payment of postage)
- for questionnaires and surveys
- for birthday or greeting cards
or messages
- for correspondence you instigate
with constituents on issues on which they have not previously
contacted you
Questionnaires and surveys; birthday or greeting
cards or messages and other personal items; circulars; newsletters
and calendars must not be attached to correspondence legitimately
sent in pre-paid envelopes.
You are encouraged to use second-class pre-paid envelopes.
First class envelopes should only be used for priority mail.
HOUSE STATIONERY
House stationery, however it is acquired, should
not be used for the following purposes:
- communications of a commercial
nature
- in connection with fund raising
for the benefit of a political party, advocating membership of
a political party, or supporting the returns of any person to
public office
- for correspondence of All-Party
Groups which include persons who are not Members of either House
If you wish to use House of Commons stationery to
write to people on issues on which they have not previously contacted
you, you must purchase it from the suppliers, not as part of your
cash-limited entitlement. Alternatively, you may photocopy stationery
which includes the crowned portcullis and the words "House
of Commons". Any such use must also comply with the three
requirements set out earlier in this section.
PETITIONS
Someone who has signed a petition which has been
addressed to you, who has sent you a campaign postcard or letter,
or who has raised an issue with you in person, is considered to
have contacted you for the purpose of these rules, unless the
petition or campaign was itself instigated by you or by someone
acting on your behalf. Pre-paid envelopes and House stationery
provided from a Member's cash limited entitlement should only
be used to reply once to this kind of correspondence.
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE
Modest use of House of Commons stationery (but not
pre-paid envelopes) for personal correspondence is permitted.
PARTY POLITICAL
CONTENT
Party political references are allowed in officially
provided stationery, or in correspondence sent in pre-paid envelopes.
INTERACTION WITH OTHER ALLOWANCES
COMMUNICATIONS EXPENDITURE
Where rules state that the stationery entitlement
cannot be used (for example, circulars, newsletters, annual reports
etc), relevant stationery and postage costs can be met from Communications
Expenditure, with the proviso that the costs fall within the scope
of that allowance and the principles set out in Part I of this
document have been met.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND
OFFICE EXPENDITURE
Once the stationery entitlement has been exhausted,
additional stationery supplies can be purchased using the AOE.
However, the AOE cannot be used to purchase pre-paid envelopes.
Instead, stamps (or other distribution methods) should be used.
HOW THE STATIONERY ENTITLEMENT WORKS IN PRACTICE
The Department of Resources is responsible for providing
advice on the use of stationery and Communications Expenditure.
It will also provide advice for both allowances.
The ordering of stationery and pre-paid envelopes
is the responsibility of the Department of Facilities. This can
be done from the House of Commons stationery catalogue via the
internet by ordering from your bespoke account at www.banner-online.biz
or on a bespoke stationery order form.
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