The name has been criticised for its connection to the "sexist" practice of purdah,[2][3] and various public bodies and departments have dropped it in favour of terms like "pre-election period" and "heightened sensitivity".
[16] Purdah has been imposed in ministerial guidance since at least the early 20th century reflecting an earlier "self-denying ordinance", and has considerable moral authority, its breach carrying with it in worst cases the possibility of actions for abuse of power and misconduct in public office.
Section 39 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 inserted sections 4A and 4B into the Local Government Act 1986 which provide powers for the Secretary of State to issue a notice to comply or explain, followed after non-compliance, by a direction; and to issue a more general Order if approved by Parliament across multiple authorities to comply in some respects with provisions of the recommendatory, good practice, code.
Local authorities should pay particular regard to the legislation governing publicity during the period of heightened sensitivity before elections and referendums – see paragraphs 7 to 9 of this code.
It may be necessary to suspend the hosting of material produced by third parties, or to close public forums during this period to avoid breaching any legal restrictions.
Publicity relating to individuals involved directly in the election should not be published by local authorities during this period unless expressly authorised by or under statute.
It is acceptable to publish material relating to the subject matter of a referendum, for example to correct any factual inaccuracies which have appeared in publicity produced by third parties, so long as this is even-handed and objective and does not support or oppose any of the options which are the subject of the vote.The purdah period in local government ends on the close of polls which, for ordinary elections, is usually on the first Thursday in May.
[22] In the 2012 referendum on elected mayors for the core cities of Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Wakefield an extra purdah restriction was introduced, namely that from 6 April councils were not able to promote in an opinionated manner the referendum by publishing articles or issuing press releases.
However, public information in the form of questions and answers was still permitted to be on the council's website, and press officers were able to respond to enquiries from the media.