Keyholder Policy

BOZEAT PARISH COUNCIL

KEYHOLDER POLICY

Purpose

Bozeat Parish Council has created this keyholder policy in order to maintain the security of council premises, contents and grounds.  It is also intended to help protect employees, contractors and service users and safeguard confidential information, both manually and electronically.

Policy

It is the policy of Bozeat Parish Council to only issue keys for council premises and equipment such as bollards to employees, contractors, members of the council and named members of the public on a “required-for-role” basis.  This ensures that the absolute minimum number of persons have the means to access council premises, equipment or grounds at any time of day of night, ensuring that security levels remain consistently stringent, thus minimising the risk of unauthorised access.  Where it is agreed by Bozeat Parish Council that a named person not a council employee, contractor or member of the council may be a keyholder, the reason for that decision is to be recorded.

The Clerk will, in consultation with the Chairman, identify which employees, contractors, members of the council or other named persons are eligible to be permanent keyholders.  Each person must complete a Keyholder Form which registers them as a keyholder and also highlights their responsibilities within this function.

Bozeat Parish Council recognises that provision must be made for leave, illness and emergencies so that access to premises and grounds is always possible.

With this in mind, the Clerk will, in consultation with the Chairman, agree in advance, any persons who would be allowed to hold keys on a temporary basis for an agreed function.  Each person identified for this function must complete a Temporary Keyholder Form at the time the keys are issued to them.  The keys will be signed back to the Clerk at the end of the temporary period.

The Clerk will be responsible for maintaining a Keyholder Register which will record all keys held and by whom.  Both permanent and temporary keyholders will be recorded on the register.

The purpose of the register is to enable operational management and provide a clear audit trail in the event of any security issues that may arise.