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📄 FOI Request – Entry #002: Flag Removal at County Hall

Date Submitted: May 2025
Subject: Removal of Pride and Ukrainian flags
Council: Durham County Council
Majority Party: Reform UK

🧾 Background

In May 2025, shortly after taking control of the council, the Reform UK administration removed both the LGBTQ+ Pride flag and the Ukrainian flag from outside County Hall.

The justification given: a new policy to fly only “national and local flags.” No public consultation was undertaken, and no public announcement was made until after the fact. The timing — just days before Durham Pride — did not go unnoticed.

This appears to contradict the council’s own stated commitment to equality and consultation. From the Equality Policy (2024–2028), under Consultation and involvement:

“To ensure our services and decisions are inclusive and responsive we involve and consult with people who use our services, employees, elected members, trade unions and partners on service changes, new approaches, refreshed strategies and policy changes. Stakeholders include communities and organisations who represent protected groups, e.g. Disability Partnership, Youth Council, North East England Rainbow Alliance and staff networks. Engaging with communities of interest allows us to gain equality focussed customer and employee insight and, where required, seek external validation for schemes such as our Disability Confident Leader application.”

âť“ Questions That Prompted the Request

  1. Was the flag removal planned in advance or made ad hoc?
  2. Was the decision guided by an existing written policy?
  3. Were any Equality Impact Assessments or risk assessments carried out?
  4. Were local stakeholders consulted, as per the council’s own equality commitments?
  5. Did any councillors or officers raise objections internally?

đź“„ Full FOI Request Text

Dear Durham County Council FOI Officer,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting access to the following information:

All records, meeting minutes, correspondence, and internal communications related to the decision to remove the Pride and Ukrainian flags from outside County Hall, including any policies or guidelines that informed this decision.

Please provide the information in electronic format where possible.

If this request exceeds the cost limit, please advise me as soon as possible so that I may refine it accordingly.

Yours faithfully,

Neil

⏳ Status

Awaiting response.