Protocol for Flag Flying

1. Scope of Protocol

This protocol relates to flags flown on City Hall itself, from Centenary Square, Bradford and from other Council-owned or Council-controlled civic buildings and flag poles. It does not apply to temporary event dressing, handheld flags, civic regalia, internal displays, exhibitions, communications activity, lighting schemes or community events unless a flag is proposed to be flown from a Councilowned or Council – controlled civic building.

It covers annual flag flying and a procedure for adding to or removing flags from that annual list, as well as a procedure for ad-hoc or short notice requests.

There is also guidance on flag flying in periods of mourning at Appendix A.

Decisions on flying flags are a matter for the Executive to determine.

2. City Hall

The only flags flown on City Hall in normal circumstances should be the Union flag and/or St George’s flag. Any other flags flown at City Hall should be flown from the flag poles in Centenary Square. Any ad-hoc exceptions to this are only permissible with the consent of the Leader of the Council (or if not available, the Executive Member responsible for Corporate Resources) after any necessary consultation with the Chief Executive and/or Director of Legal and Governance

3. Centenary Square

The flags to be flown on Centenary Square flag poles annually and on what dates are shown at Appendix B:

Commonwealth Day
VE Day
Bradford City Fire Commemoration
Waterloo
Armed Forces (during Armed Forces week)
Yorkshire Day
VJ Day
Merchant Navy Day
Emergency Services Day
Battle of Britain Day
Battle of Trafalgar
Remembrance Sunday (and 11 days of Remembrance)
Other UK Government Nationally recognised civic commemorations
United Kingdon constituent countries Saints days
Participating United Kingdon constituent countries flags during, and celebrating success in, major sporting events
Bradford sporting club flags during, and celebrating success in, major sporting events

The Council will follow any direction or guidance from National Government including Royal protocols regarding flag flying raising or lowering and any National guidance/requirements will take precedence.

4. Other Civic Buildings

Other major civic buildings, namely Bingley Town Hall, Ilkley Town Hall, Keighley Town Hall and Shipley Town Hall, should fly the Union flag where there is a flag flying facility save on 23 April when St George’s flag is flown and 1 August when the Yorkshire flag is flown.

If a request is received to fly different flags on these buildings the principles set out below are to be followed.

5. Procedure for adding or removing a flag from the annual list as detailed in Appendix B

Any request to add or remove a flag on the annual list should be made in writing to the Director of Legal and Governance at least two weeks before the flag is intended to first be flown or removed from the list.

The Director of Legal and Governance will consult Council Group Leaders and the Chief Executive on their views. The Leader of the Council, or in their absence the Executive Member responsible for Corporate Resources, will take a decision in light of the consultation responses.

6. Procedure for ad-hoc and short notice flag flying requests

A request should be made in writing to the Director of Legal and Governance. A decision will be made by the Leader of the Council or in their absence the Executive Member responsible for Corporate Resources after any appropriate consultation possible in the time available.

Appendix A – Guidance on Flag Flying during periods of Mourning

Flying Of Flags At Half-Mast

'Half-mast' means that the flag is flown two-thirds up the flagstaff.

The occasions on which flags are to be flown at half-mast are:

from the announcement of the death up to the funeral of the Sovereign, except on Proclamation Day, when they are hoisted right up from 11am to sunset;
the funerals of members of the Royal Family, subject to special commands in each case;
the funerals of foreign rulers, subject to special commands in each case;
the funerals of serving and ex-Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, and the funerals of serving and ex-Scottish or Welsh First Ministers, subject to special commands in each case.

Rules when days for flying coincide with days for flying at half-mast:

Flags are to be flown right up all day:

although a member of the Royal Family, or a near relative of the Royal Family, may be lying dead, unless special commands are received from The King to the contrary;
although it may be the day of the funeral of a foreign ruler.

If it is a day on which a flag would fly, but the body of a very distinguished subject is lying at a Government building, the flag may fly at half-mast on that office until the body has left, after which the flag is to be hoisted right up. On all other Government buildings, the flag will fly as usual.

Acts of Terrorism and other Human Tragedies, The Death and Funeral of Serving and Ex-Serving Foreign Rulers

In the event of an act of terrorism or other human tragedy, flags should not be flown at half-mast unless a special command is issued to the contrary.

City Hall

Flags should be lowered to half-mast only on the death of a Freeman of the City, Lord Mayor or Lady Mayoress, serving member of the Council, ex Lord Mayor or ex Lady Mayoress of Bradford Council, local Member of Parliament or for a national day of mourning. With the exception of national mourning, where a period of more than five working days is likely to elapse before a funeral takes place, the flag should be raised to full mast following the second day and then lowered to half-mast on the day of the funeral.

Centenary Square

On days when the City Hall flags are being flown at half-mast, other national flags on Centenary Square continue to be flown at full mast unless a United Kingdom flag is present in which case all other flags should be removed and the United Kingdom flag be flown at half-mast.

Where another nation is observing a day of mourning and the Council wishes to express its support the flag of that nation may be flown alone at half-mast. If the mourning is also being observed by the UK the Union Flag may also be flown at halfmast to the right of the other flag.

Appendix B – Table of Flags permitted to be flown annually on the Centenary Square flag poles

Date	Event	Flag
2nd Monday in March	Fly The Flag for the Commonwealth	Commonwealth Flag
8 May	VE Day	VE Flag and Commonwealth flag
11 May	Bradford City Fire	Bradford City AFC Flag
18 June	Waterloo	Army flag
Last Saturday in June for 1 week. Raised on the Monday to the Saturday of the week which culminates with the Armed Forces Day	Armed Forces Day	Armed Forces Day Flag (plus RAF, RN and Army)
1 August	Yorkshire Day	Yorkshire flag (If possible 2 flags 1 each side of centenary square)
15 August	VJ Day	VJ Flag and Commonwealth flag
3 September	Merchant Navy Day	Red Ensign
9 September	Emergency Services Day	999 Day Flag
15 September	Battle of Britain Day	RAF flag
21 October	Battle of Trafalgar	Union flag
1-11 November	Remembrance	Royal British Legion RBL 'Poppy' flag and a Union flag on each side of the Square.

Other UK Government Nationally recognised civic commemorations
United Kingdom constituent countries Saints days
Participating United Kingdom constituent countries flags during, and celebrating success in, major sporting events
Bradford sporting clubs flags during, and celebrating success in, major sporting events