Marches, parades and static demonstrations: guidance

4: Good practice

4.1 Notifications

Local authorities must ensure that they make information on the notification process for a march/parade easily accessible and understandable to the public. Ideally this should be on an easily findable section on the local authority’s main website and should include information not only for organisers, but also for potential objectors and for the general public.

Most local authorities now offer themselves as a single gateway for notifications, meaning that march organisers do not need to notify both the local authority and the police separately. Best practice means that those local authorities who do not yet offer this single gateway should implement this simple procedure.

We recommend that local authorities encourage organisers to submit notifications well ahead of the 28-day minimum period. This can be particularly helpful for those organising larger marches and parades, Early notification can help speed up the time it takes to confirm the broad details of a march/parade (for example, the date, time, and likely route) and local authorities should do all they can to ensure that this early confirmation of broad detail happens in practice whenever possible.

For large and complex marches/parades, it may be necessary to put in place appropriate Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs –discussed in section 5 on managing traffic) in order to ensure the safe management of traffic in connection with the event. These orders are made by the traffic authority.^[1] There is a lead in time for the promotion and making of these orders. For marches and parades which take place on or impact traffic on the trunk road network the lead in time is typically between 6 and 8 weeks. Similar lead-in times can apply for those marches and parades which take place on local roads. Early notification to your local authority is therefore very helpful in ensuring that the need for traffic regulation can be quickly identified and put in place timeously.

While it is likely that final decisions will be made close to the notified date of the march, the local authority should, in keeping with the spirit of the legislation, acknowledge receipt of a notification as soon as possible.

Thereafter, both local authority and police should raise any known issues with organisers at their earliest opportunity. This will ensure that organisers are alerted to any likely issues or problems and are given adequate opportunity to address any concerns. If special conditions or a prohibition are to be put in place, organisers should be given reasonable time to prepare and, if necessary, to make any appeals.

Whatever the specific circumstances of the notified march/parade, and whether or not problems are likely, local authorities and organisers should remain in contact, not least because unexpected circumstances may arise.

A march or parade itself does not need the ‘permission’ of the local authority. However, there may, in some cases, be specific aspects of its organisation that do require licences, permits and certificates, for example a public entertainment licence, a street trader licence, or the landowner’s agreement for using a park or open space. The local authority should consider whether any type of licence, permit or certificate is needed and give organisers advance information about such requirements, including any fee which may apply. Links to further guidance on such public events can be found in the Useful Links section of this guidance.

Whilst organisers of static demonstrations are not required to submit advance notification, local authorities should encourage organisers to voluntarily notify their intention to hold a static demonstration and ensure that a clearly advertised point of contact is in place.

4.2 Codes of Conduct and Standard Conditions

Most local authorities have developed ‘codes of conduct’ and a list of local standard conditions for marches and parades in their area. In general, such codes and standard conditions will cover the timing and routes of marches and parades, expectations about stewarding, arrangements for assembly and dispersal, responsibilities of organisers, and conditions around the use of loudhailers or the playing of music.

While having clear ‘standard conditions’ can be helpful in avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort for all parties, and for creating transparency and consistency, these conditions still need to be necessary, proportionate, and justifiable under section 63 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 for each specific procession, and therefore notified to each specific march/parade organiser in advance. Copies of ‘standard conditions’ could be made available to organisers along with the notification form and be easily findable on local authority websites.

Local authorities who do not have codes of conduct and/or guidance on standard conditions should consider whether - as a matter of good practice – they should now produce and publish them.

Organisers should be encouraged to familiarise themselves with any ‘standard conditions’ and ‘codes of conduct’ and ensure that they understand what is expected by them, in consultation with the local authority.

Appendix 1 contains links to further examples and resources that may assist local authorities and organisers when considering codes of conduct. However, please note that these are prepared by local authorities and are not documents prepared by the Scottish Government.

4.3 Assessing risk

The local authority, in close discussion with Police Scotland, should carry out an assessment of the risk of holding a march/parade against the considerations set out in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

Section 63(8) of that Act, as discussed further at section 4.10 of this guidance, requires local authorities to consider ‘the likely effect of holding the procession’ in relation to public safety, public order, damage to property, and disruption to the life of the community’. Additionally, it directs local authorities to consider if ‘the containment of risks arising from the procession’ would place an ‘excessive burden’ on the police, and whether the organiser of the march, or those likely to be taking part in it, had previously been involved in a procession which had broken conditions/prohibitions, or had otherwise produced concerns on the issues specified by the Act.

This is a useful framework around which to structure a risk assessment as this will allow for informed decision making. It will help to:

• identify the likely risks associated with holding the procession.
• inform local authorities, Police Scotland and organisers on what measures could be taken to reduce or remove such risks.
• provide local authorities and Police Scotland with a more informed view on what preventative measures they may need to take now and for future processions.

Depending on the nature, scale and/or duration of the march/parade, it may be appropriate to ask the organiser to also carry out a risk assessment and to consider it within the decision-making process. Some local authorities include a risk assessment with the notification form itself, which means that all marches/parades are systematically risk assessed. Local authorities should support less experienced organisers in going through such an assessment.

Appendix 2 contains links to further examples and resources that may assist local authorities and organisers when considering risk assessment.

4.4 Precursory meetings

A precursory meeting is an informal discussion between the local authority, the police and the organiser, providing a useful face-to-face opportunity for everyone to go through the notification and to discuss any evident issues or problems. A precursory meeting is not a legal requirement, and may not always be necessary, but it will almost always be helpful. For large and complex marches/parades such meetings might usefully begin up to twelve months before. Likewise, where the organiser of a static demonstration has provided the local authority with a notification of their intentions, an informal discussion to help the safe facilitation of the demonstration is strongly encouraged.

Many successful marches/parades and static demonstrations pass off well because of the hard work put in by organisers in conjunction with local authorities and police prior to their assembly. Much of this hard work – and the goodwill between parties – goes unnoticed by the wider public. Local authorities might wish to consider whether a concise summary of decisions made by them, organisers and Police Scotland in the process of dealing with the notification can routinely be made publicly available. This may help to provide transparency and legitimacy to the robust processes for facilitating marches and parades that often go unseen.

Many local authorities now arrange a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) or an Event Planning & Operations Group (EPOG) for major events which require multi-agency cooperation. These bring together local authority, event organiser, police, traffic authority and any other parties relevant to a proposed march/parade (such as the Fire or Ambulance services). There are several benefits to such a multi-agency approach, but key is that it provides a ‘one stop shop’ for event organisers. Working with the SAG/EPOG allows organisers to plan safely for their march/parade and feel supported by their local authority and Police Scotland.

Best practice suggests the SAG/EPOG model should also be used wherever possible to help facilitate static demonstrations. Engagement through the SAG/EPOG can help build the organisational capacity of organisers and foster good relations and trust.

In 2015, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) recommended the multi-agency SAG/EPOG model to its members, and it is recommended that local authorities not currently operating such a system should give serious consideration to doing so.

4.5 Communicating decisions

The local authority must inform organisers of what decisions have been made about their march/parade ‘at least two [business] days’ before it is due to take place. In most cases, councils will be able to communicate those decisions much more timeously. There will be some occasions where the local authority will be unable to give a decision until very close to the day of the event itself. This can give the organiser very little time to prepare any appeal. As a general rule, local authorities should strive to give their decisions to organisers at least one full week before the march/parade is to be held. Where course organisers have given considerably more than the minimum 28 days’ notice of a march/parade then local authorities should, at minimum, give a prompt written acknowledgment that the notification has been received.

4.6 Debriefing meetings

It is best practice for local authority officers and police to meet with the organiser of a march/parade or static demonstration following the event. Consideration should be given to whether it is practicable and appropriate to also include relevant community representatives in such de-briefs. Whilst the benefits of such de-briefs will seem most readily obvious where there has been a large and complex event, or where issues and problems have arisen, there are many benefits for holding de-briefs for ‘routine’ and ‘uneventful’ marches/parades and demonstrations. De-briefs, particularly where organisers are likely to arrange similar events in future, help build good relationships, establish trust, and develop good practice.

Meetings and ongoing engagement with both organisers and communities can also contribute to the Public Sector Equality Duty, a duty under the Equality Act 2010 for public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. This is discussed further in this guidance at Section 4.8. Further information on the Public Sector Equality Duty can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-governments-equality-duties/.

It is best practice for the local authority to provide and share written documentation of what went well at a march/parade, and what could have been done better, not least as a useful starting point for any future march/parade by that organiser or group.

4.7 Lists of processions

Local authorities are required to make lists of past and forthcoming marches/parades available to the public, including those which were prohibited.

Good practice would see local authorities provide accessible and easily findable information on their main local authority website about all future notified marches and parades (and a digest of past marches and parades) with detail on the purpose/organiser, date, start time and estimated end time, and details of the route. This would, at minimum, allow local residents and businesses to find out about marches/parades in their area.

Best practice would provide this clear and comprehensive list of marches and parades along with a clear indication of the deadline for the public to submit comments and/or make objections. In the case of major marches/parades where a significant degree of inconvenience to local businesses and residents is likely, local authorities would also consider other, and more proactive, means of informing communities.

4.8 Consulting communities and fostering good relations

The Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act, 2010 puts the onus on public bodies to ‘foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it’, and to be mindful of the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and advance equality of opportunity. Certain marches, parades or static demonstrations may directly relate to the protected characteristics defined at Section 4 of the Equality Act – age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Proactive engagement by Police Scotland, local authorities, and other public bodies with the assembly organisers and with relevant communities will help to build and sustain the good relations and trust necessary between all parties to ensure such assemblies are facilitated smoothly and may help local authorities to comply with their statutory duty.

There is evidence that many people are broadly unsympathetic to public assemblies: they are concerned about the inconvenience they may cause to the general public, to businesses, and to traffic; they may worry about a perceived threatening atmosphere; or they may find the motivations and aims of the marchers or demonstrators offensive.^[2] However, it must be remembered that the key framework in which public authorities should approach peaceful marches, parades and static demonstrations is in light of facilitating ECHR Article 11 rights.

Community consultations over marches/parades and static demonstrations should proceed with four key aims:

• To keep communities well-informed about what is happening in their area
• To inform communities about the steps they can take to make representations to their local authority
• To ensure that communities are aware of the necessarily limited grounds upon which the council can place special conditions on, or prohibit, a march/parade
• To foster good relations around marches/parades and static demonstrations, to help tackle prejudice and promote understanding

Local authorities must take account of the effect of marches and parades on the community in terms of public safety, public order, risks of damage to property and risks of disruption to the life of the community. Much of the groundwork in each of these respects can be done through community involvement – by providing clear and accessible guidance on local authority websites and communicating/circulating such information to particular communities at particular times. Involving community representatives in post-event de-briefings, where appropriate, can help clarify issues, build trust and foster good relations.

Fostering good relations might take the form of initiating, or sustaining, dialogue with, and between, community organisations and assembly organisers so as to reduce any potential anxieties, and so that views and concerns can be aired and responded to in a respectful and constructive way. Fostering good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it is a statutory responsibility of public bodies under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

4.9 Prohibitions and special conditions

As outlined in this guidance, local authorities must consider the effect of holding the procession on the following factors before deciding whether to restrict a procession.

• Public safety
• Public order
• Damage to property
• Disruption to the life of the community

Local authorities should also assess whether the procession (either alone or with other events in the vicinity) would place too much of a logistical burden on the police (note that police costs are not a valid issue for consideration). Local authorities should examine all of these factors before deciding whether it would be appropriate to prevent a procession or place conditions on it (such as rerouting the event). Any such restriction must be in line with ECHR, and the nature of the restriction must be in proportion to the aim which it is trying to tackle.

An important point to note is that whilst Article 11 allows for freedom for peaceful assembly, it may be necessary and appropriate for the local authority to place special conditions on the precise manner on which that freedom is exercised. Again, that condition must be proportionate. An example of this might be a parade, with musical bands, which will pass a war memorial where a commemorative service is taking place. It may be entirely proportionate for the local authority to put a special condition on the parade such that all music will stop when the parade is passing the memorial. Similarly, many local authorities have what are often known as ‘standard conditions’, and one such condition might be that music will cease on a march/parade passing a place or worship where a religious service is taking place. However, as noted at section 4.4, all conditions, including ‘standard’ ones, have to be notified to the organiser in advance of each march/parade.

In general, special conditions will be appropriate and proportionate to a relatively small number of marches/parades, and prohibitions to fewer still. Legislation makes it clear that a prohibition is a last resort, imposed in circumstances where imposition of conditions would be ineffective.

However, as with all local authority decisions relating to marches and parades, each notification must be considered on a case-by-case basis, with any conditions applied, whether considered ‘standard’, ‘special’ or otherwise, being appropriate and proportionate.

4.10 Disruption to the life of the community

All marches and parades, no matter how small and no matter their purpose, will inevitably cause some degree of disruption to communities and businesses. However, the degree of disruption may not, by itself (or with other events), be enough to justify preventing people from holding a march/parade, or to merit the local authority or Police Scotland placing conditions on it. Indeed, marches and parades are themselves a part of community life. Local authorities must consider the precise circumstances of each individual notification and assess how far the march/parade would affect the community (or any individual or organisation who can reasonably be considered to be part of a community affected by the notification), and to attach weight accordingly.

‘Community’ in this context might be thought of as residents of an area through which a march/parade will pass, as well as local businesses and their staff, other workers and shoppers. ‘Disruption’ might comprise of the physical occupation of space (such as restricting access of people and traffic to public spaces or roads) but also issues such as noise or the potential for a threatening atmosphere. Here the volume and scale of marches/parades, as well as issues of access and egress to assembly and dispersal points are important aspects to consider.

The question for the local authority is whether the level of disruption likely to be caused by any particular march/parade will be far greater than the benefits of an unrestricted application of the right to free assembly in that particular context, and thus necessitate a restriction or prohibition. Any such restriction/prohibition on these grounds must be a proportionate response.

Those interested in these issues may also find the Scottish Government’s independent study of the Community Impact of Public Processions (2015) useful.

There is a particular burden on public resources when relationships between the key parties to marches and parades are under strain. Investment in ‘fostering good relations’ at local levels may improve the resilience of these relationships, and build (in particular with march/parade organisers) trusted channels of discussion and negotiation. Building such relationships should be seen as the responsibility of all parties to a march or parade: organisers, police, and local authorities. Whilst fostering good relations between individuals and groups across protected characteristics is a statutory requirement under the Public Sector Equality Duty, it should also be seen as best practice in all situations. Where relationships around marches and parades have been damaged or eroded, the local authority, in the first instance, should strive to repair them.

4.11 Considerations against previous processions

Local authorities must also assess notification of a march/parade against any previous processions held in their jurisdiction by the organiser or by those in which people who took part in the past are likely to take part in the proposed procession. For example, if there was a violation of a condition placed on the earlier procession, the local authority should take this into account when reaching a decision on the current notification. Again, any restriction placed on a march must be in line with Article 11 of the ECHR.

In such circumstances, it would be good practice for the organiser to proactively make the necessary arrangements and plans to reassure the local authority that there was unlikely to be a recurrence of the violation or difficulty.

4.12 Objections

Local authorities should provide clear and concise guidance on how members of the public can make comments or objections about marches and parades, the deadlines by which these need to be received, and what considerations can be taken into account. This is not merely a matter of good practice; in certain contexts, this may fall under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Ensuring that members of the public understand the limits of what actions a local authority can legitimately take is important, as is dealing with comments and objections on which a local authority cannot legally act. This understanding can be difficult to achieve, not least in cases where a march/parade is objected to because of what it is seen (by some) to represent. In such cases, communities may require reassurance, and here the long term aims of ‘fostering good relations’ should be pursued.

A local authority’s legal duty is to have regard to all relevant considerations, and to disregard all irrelevant considerations. While the weight to be given to a relevant consideration is for a local authority to determine, by definition it cannot be unreasonable to give some weight to it.

Councils should also carefully consider what kinds of comments and objections are communicated to the organiser. Introducing objections that the council cannot properly and lawfully take into account into discussions with the organiser may cause confusion, and may undermine, rather that foster, good relations. Councils may wish to consider a ‘screening’ process where objections – perhaps heartfelt but legally irrelevant – are excluded from the formal considerations as part of the process following notification.