Arena - TO ALL OUR MEMBERS - January 2021 - Association of Electoral Administrators
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Arena
The monthly magazine for UK electoral administrators
January 2021
TO ALL OUR MEMBERS
Designed and published by the Association of Electoral Administrators
Page 2
Advertising job vacancies
Annual conference 2021
Changes to candidates’ spending limits
Deputy Chairman election 2021
Draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal)
Bill
Evening Standard - printing the register
George Smith
Goodbye, good luck and thank you
Job vacancies
Member support update
Members’ monthly update
Polling station finder
PPE for the May 2021 elections - clarification
Puzzle and answers
Reporting election issues
This month’s FAQ
Training update
And finally...
Page 3
Annual Conference 2021
SCARBOROUGH 1992
LLANDUDNO 1993
TORQUAY 1988
BRIGHTON 2019
HARROGATE 2002 BLACKPOOL 2020
A reminder
forthcoming 2021
about
th
the
Annual
Conference - our 34 - which, for
the first time, will be held online.
The Conference will provide
delegates with both an opportunity
to look back and to look forward. It ONLINE 2021
will consider the canvass and help
members to plan for changes they may want ahead of the second
reformed canvass. It will look in detail at the issues for the 2021 polls and
assist those attending to understand the new requirements placed upon
them. It will also look to the future at the UK Government’s plans for
change ahead of the next UK Parliamentary general election.
As well as a range of plenary sessions, there will be four workshops that
provide delegates with an opportunity to explore key areas in more detail.
The workshops planned for 2021 are ERO Performance Standards, Running
Combined Polls, Communicating, and Postal Vote Opening.
Conference will run from 9.15 on Monday 8 February to 16.30 on
Tuesday 9 February, and you can download both the Annual
conference 2021 flyer and the Annual conference 2021 booking
form.
Not long now! Here’s hoping to see some old familiar faces in a new
setting!
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Page 4
Election of AEA Deputy Chairman
T he election is fast approaching and you will have seen the notice of
election on the website. The deadline for receipt of nominations is
12 noon tomorrow, 14 January. If the election is contested, an electronic
ballot will be held and we will send you details of the election process,
which will involve voting codes being allocated to each eligible member
and these will be available via your personal profile on the Association’s
website so that secure access to the voting process is achieved.
We are grateful to Idox once again who will be hosting
the election should it be contested. They have been
providing this facility to us for several years now and the
elections have been managed effectively and successfully
to their usual high standard.
In order to be entitled to vote at the election, membership subscriptions
must be fully paid up on or before Thursday 14 January 2021. Only
Full Members and Honorary Members (not included in the Affiliate or
Corporate class of membership) are entitled to vote and stand as a
candidate in the election. Past Service, Affiliate and Corporate Members
are excluded from the nomination process but Past Service members are
eligible to vote.
Reporting election issues - return of the red button
W e have put this familiar process in place to enable you to report
any positive or negative issues or challenges you are currently
facing or to submit any comments relating to the elections. Simply click
the red reporting button (shown opposite) which is
on the members’ home page and will appear each
week in the newsletter; it is linked to the webpage
that includes the online reporting form.
As in previous years, any issues of concern that require urgent resolution
and/or indicate trends or common themes will be passed – anonymously
- to the Cabinet Office, Electoral Commission, devolved governments and
key stakeholders to address in real time. We will also use any
submissions in discussions with the Cabinet Office, Electoral
Commission, devolved governments and key stakeholders post-election.
A dedicated email address: reporting@aea-elections.co.uk is also
available for you to use.
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Page 5
Member support update
Customisable communication templates
W e have created customisable templates for scheduled elections in
England and Wales on 6 May 2021 for the media, voters and
candidates. These are designed to be a useful starting point for you and
your communications lead to create your own tailored content. The
templates pull together key dates, high-level information and links to
more in-depth official guidance:
• Combined Authority Mayors
• England local elections excluding London Mayor and Assembly
• London Mayoral and Assembly elections
• Police and Crime Commissioner – England
• Senedd Cymru and PCC
New FAQs
Updated monthly, newly added FAQs include:
• Limits on the number of postal voting agents.
• Situation of polling stations notice
Member Support Project
Our project aims to produce guidance on matters not covered by the
Electoral Commission and template resources for areas you and we have
identified as needing extra support.
In the last month we have made guidance available on:
• How to run a Business Improvement District (BID) election from
start to finish.
• Elections 2021 legislative form references
We are currently in the process of producing guidance on:
• How to run a Neighbourhood Planning Referendum (NPR) from
start to finish.
We are also working on template resources including a timesheet for
election overtime.
We hope these will be available to members over the coming weeks.
You’ll be able to find them on the Member Support Project area of the
website.
Member good practice examples
In the last month, we have received examples good practice for all
members to benefit from. These include:
• Coronavirus staff training film (North Lanarkshire)
• Coronavirus voter information film (North Lanarkshire)
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Page 6
• Polling station coronavirus layouts (Scarborough)
• Coronavirus polling station signage (North Lanarkshire)
We would welcome more examples of your good practice to help provide
support to other members across the UK. It is clear from our member
forum there is huge demand for such resources. Please send any
examples to member.support@aea-elections.co.uk.
Canvass Reform – lessons learned
As many of you begin to move towards the conclusion of the reformed
annual canvass, we are looking to hear about people’s experiences.. We
would like to hear about anything that has gone especially well for you,
or areas where more work needs to be done.
We would love to know about initiatives you have tried and whether they
worked or did not realise the results you were hoping for:
• How has e-comms worked for you?
• Did your residents embrace channel shift, or did you get lots of
bouncebacks and requests to be unsubscribed?
• How did your local data matching go?
• Was local data matching worth the time dedicated to it?
• What were the common questions you received from electors?
• How many calls and emails are you receiving –more than before
or less?
Whatever your learning, we would appreciate hearing about it. Get in
touch at member.support@aea-elections.co.uk. Alternatively, if you
would prefer to talk through your experiences, email member support
and Clare, our member support and advice manager, will arrange to give
you a call.
We will share any information with the Cabinet Office, Electoral
Commission and Scottish Assessors Association, to collate learning
across the sector. We will make sure you all know what we have found
out – without revealing any personal information unless you are happy
for it to be shared.
Contact member support
Finally, if you have any questions, concerns, queries, topic suggestions
for member support guidance or template resources, or even have
examples of good practice you would like to share – please contact
member.support@aea-elections.co.uk and we will get back to you at the
earliest opportunity.
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Page 7
Draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill
T he draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill was published
on 1 December in line with the UK Government’s manifesto
commitments.
The 2011 Act gives a maximum parliamentary term of five years. While
it is in place, the next general election would be held in May 2024. The
2011 Act also allows an early election to be called in one of two
scenarios:
• Two-thirds of the House of Commons vote in favour of an early
election.
• The Government loses a vote of no confidence.
In theory, the 2015 General Election should have led to a five-year term
and a subsequent parliamentary general election on 7 May 2020. In
practice, the UK went to the polls in both June 2017 and December
2019.
The draft Bill repeals the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and restores
the process for triggering a UK Parliamentary general election with
previous constitutional arrangements reinstated. This would mean the
Sovereign (HM The Queen) may grant a general election, on advice from
the Prime Minister.
The changes will allow elections to happen when a Government chooses,
including when they feel there is a stalemate in Parliament. They will be
able to call an election to seek a fresh democratic mandate from the
British public when they believe it is necessary.
The Bill does not change the election timetable and there remains a 25-
working day period between the dissolution of Parliament and polling
day.
What does the draft Bill include?
• Clause 1 - repeals the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.
• Clause 2 – revives Royal Prerogative powers for the dissolution
of Parliament (subsection (1)), and for calling a new Parliament
(subsection (2)) which confirms that powers to call a new
Parliament include powers to issue writs summoning peers to the
House of Lords and writs for parliamentary elections.
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Page 8
• Clause 3 - prevents judicial review of revived prerogative
powers.
• Clause 4 – provides for automatic dissolution of Parliament after
five years "if it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament
dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary
of the day on which it first met."
• Clause 5 - addresses minor consequential amendments and
savings.
• Clause 6 - deals with the extent, commencement, and the short
title.
• Schedule - addresses minor consequential amendments,
including to the Representation of the People Act 1983 to provide
election timetable certainty. At present some election timetable
dates are calculated by when the election writ is received. Writs
are usually sent by post, so this can lead to inconsistency or a
lack of certainty. Amendments to the election timetable in
Schedule 1 to the 1983 Act clarify that the election writ is to be
taken to have been received the day after the date of the
proclamation summoning the new Parliament (or in the case of a
by-election, the day after the date of the warrant for the writ).
So, when will the next UK parliamentary general election be
held?
We’re sure many of you already have Thursday 2 May 2024 pencilled in
your diary based on current legislation. The draft Bill will now undergo
pre-legislative scrutiny and, if made law, will enable Governments to call
a general election at a time of their choosing within the life of a
Parliament. In effect, a general election could take place any time after
the draft Bill receives Royal Assent, but no later than December 2024.
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Page 9
Democracy Club’s online
polling station finder
T he Electoral Commission will
once again be running an
interactive polling station finder, in conjunction with Democracy Club.
Election administrators are encouraged to send their polling station data
to pollingstations@democracyclub.org.uk as soon as it is ready.
As Arena readers will appreciate, 6 May 2021 promises to offer one of
the most complex sets of elections in modern UK history. In this context,
voters’ ability to access clear, accurate and individually relevant
information will be all the more crucial. Democracy Club’s polling station
finder allows voters to find their assigned station using only their home
address, without the need to contact electoral services. In the
uncertainty of a Covid-19 election, the finder can react to last-minute
station changes or provide updates about safety in ways a poll card
cannot. Moreover, the finder can be added to your own website for free.
The finder, which is hosted on the Electoral Commission’s voter
information pages and at WhereDoIVote.co.uk, has unparalleled reach:
during 2019, it processed nearly six million individual searches. Our
research suggests that the finder is especially effective at reaching less-
engaged groups, including recent migrants and, especially, younger
voters.
Despite its many challenges, 2019 was Democracy Club’s most
successful year. The polling station finder covered 76% of the voting age
population for the May local elections, 58% for the EU elections, and
73% for the December general election. We would like to extend our
thanks to all electoral administrators who helped make this possible by
providing us with polling station data.
Once a council’s data is received, our team ‘cleans’ and checks it for
issues, before writing a script to import it into the finder. Although this
process can take time, over the last year we have updated and
expanded our data processing methods and capacity. With your help, we
are hoping that 2021 will see us reach 100% coverage for England,
Scotland, and Wales.
Continued...
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Page 10
Providing the data is extremely simple. Once all your stations are
confirmed, simply run the export function built into your EMS software.
Then email the resulting file(s) to
pollingstations@democracyclub.org.uk.
Key points to remember when submitting data:
• If you want voters in your area to access our mapping feature,
please add either a UPRN or coordinates to each polling station
in your EMS before creating the datafile.
• If your council already hosts an in-house polling station finder,
get in touch and let us know - we may be able to simply ‘plug in’
to your existing data feed.
• Alert us immediately of any station changes before or during the
election - we are able to update these details very rapidly.
• If your council area is running an election on behalf of a larger
organisation (County Council, Combined Authority, etc), please
be sure to check that your colleagues in neighbouring electoral
services are aware of the polling station finder.
Read the full instructions on Democracy Club’s website.
Democracy Club is a non-profit Community Interest Company that
builds online voter information tools for UK elections. As well as the
polling station finder, we also work with volunteers to crowdsource
candidate information at WhoCanIVoteFor.co.uk.
Peter Keeling
Voting Information Manager
Democracy Club
https://democracyclub.org.uk/
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Training Update
B elow are the courses that are now available to book.
All of these will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams.
Booking
Date Course Venue
Form
2021
Online – via
14 – Thursday 2 Day Elections Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
20 – Wednesday 1 Day Elections Book now
Microsoft Teams
Employment and Information Online – via
21 – Thursday Book now
Governance Essentials Microsoft Teams
Online – via
January 27 – Wednesday Verification and Count Book now
Microsoft Teams
Key Considerations for Returning Online – via
27 – Wednesday Book now
Officers and their deputies Microsoft Teams
Online – via
28 – Thursday Parish Matters Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
29 – Friday Absent Voting Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
3 – Wednesday Absent Voting Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
10 – Wednesday Introduction to Electoral Services Book now
Microsoft Teams
Key Considerations for Returning Online – via
February 12 – Friday Book now
Officers and their deputies Microsoft Teams
Online – via
22 – Monday 1 Day Elections Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
25 – Thursday Verification and Count Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
8 – Monday Absent Voting Book now
Microsoft Teams
Online – via
16 – Tuesday Verification and Count Book now
Microsoft Teams
March
Online – via
19 – Friday 1 Day Elections Book now
Microsoft Teams
Key Considerations for Returning Online – via
31 – Wednesday Book now
Officers and their deputies Microsoft Teams
Online – via
19 – Wednesday Election Accounts Book now
Microsoft Teams
May
Online – via
25 – Tuesday Election Accounts Book now
Microsoft Teams
If you would like to find out more or arrange a course please contact
training@aea-elections.co.uk
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George Smith
I will always remember George Smith fondly. He was a course leader
when I attended one of the South West Provincial Council election
administration training courses in Torquay in 1989. He was also one of
the founder members of the Association of Electoral Administrators,
serving as Deputy Chairman in 2000 and Chairman in 2001.
George became a parish clerk at the age of 16 and served West Coker
Parish Council for 27 years, Odcombe for 25 years, and also South
Petherton Parish Council. He joined Yeovil Rural District Council in 1961,
and retired from South Somerset District Council in 2001. He held
various posts during this time including committee clerk, senior
administrative assistant, administration and development officer,
economic development manager, and corporate director. He was regional
returning officer for the South West, overseeing European elections in all
51 constituencies across the south west. His work for the UN and the
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) saw him travel
extensively in Africa and western and eastern Europe. He also served on
a panel of UK experts guiding Poland on economic development.
I don’t know of any other AEA members who have had a street named
after them! The
road pictured here
is at the entrance
to the Lufton
Industrial Estate
in Yeovil, opposite
George’s beloved
Yeovil Town
Football Club, of
which he was a
director from
1991. Those of
you who knew
him may
remember his
many and freely
given snippets of
advice; one of
them that stuck in
my mind was: “Don’t be helpful… be correct.” I have always tried hard
to follow that! Sadly, George passed away in January 2003 after a long
illness and we lost a good friend and valued colleague.
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Members’ monthly update
PART A - MEETINGS AND UPDATES
1. KEY ISSUES AND MESSAGES
May 2021 elections – Further to several enquiries we have received
and ongoing speculation in the media about the May elections, we have
been in contact with the Cabinet Office and other key stakeholders.
Last week we received confirmation from the Cabinet Office that the
position remains unchanged and that as things stand, the elections on
6 May will be proceeding and you should continue to plan for them. The
official Government line is as follows: “Legislation provides that the
elections will go ahead in May 2021. We continue to work closely with
the electoral community and public health bodies to resolve challenges
and ensure everyone will be able to cast their vote safely and securely
- and in a way of their choosing. Measures are planned to support
absent voting at short notice. Guidance will be published in good time
ahead of the polls and this matter will be kept under review." For
completeness, the Electoral Commission’s line is as follows: “Voters
should be able to participate in the polls, campaigners and parties be
able to put their case to the electorate, and electoral administration
staff be able to run the polling stations and count centres, safely and
confidently. Elections have managed to proceed where practical in
democracies around the world during the pandemic and our
preparations allow for a range of restriction levels in May. We will
continue to monitor the public health situation and to work closely with
public health bodies to ensure planning for the polls is informed by the
latest advice.” We will keep you updated if and when we hear anything
further.
PPE for 2021 Elections – UK Government are working with producers
who can look to provide a package of essential PPE which will include
face coverings, anti-bacterial hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes and
spray for touch points at realistic and competitive prices. The face
coverings which can be provided have been thoroughly tested and
meet BSI standards. The materials utilised in the products are sourced
in Great Britain and manufactured ethically, with the face coverings
offering better breathability. All coverings are UV sterile and
automatically hygienically wrapped. They are a universal fit covering
for single use. We hope to provide further details on this scheme within
the next few weeks and suggest that you wait to receive this
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information prior to purchasing PPE. It is advisable that the
procurement of PPE is done on a regional or sub-regional basis, with
greater volumes allowing for more competitive rates.
Amendment to Coronavirus legislation - the Department of Health
and Social Care has amended The Health Protection (Coronavirus,
Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 to remove any
requirement for Returning Officers to operate Test and Trace within
polling stations and to remove restrictions about the closure of
premises to be used as polling stations in May 2021. This legislation
only applies to England.
Welsh Government announcement (only relates to Wales) –
following Wales entering level 4 Covid-19 restrictions the Minister has
considered the implications in relation to elections. In the New Year
the Minister will bring forward new Regulations that will move the
window for postponed by-elections to 1st March 2021 – 6th May
2021. This means that the holding of by-elections in February will no
longer be possible once the Regulations have come into force.
Returning Officers and administrators were asked to consider carefully
whether it is within the public interest to issue notices of elections at
the end of December as the current Regulations allow for. This change
has been made in order to provide the electoral community with a
longer period of time to prepare for the by-elections and also to move
the dates toward the spring.
Message from the Cabinet Office – ‘Online Absent Vote
application service – the Cabinet Office has been working on
developing a new online absent vote application service. There had
been the potential for deployment ahead of 6 May 2021 elections, but
it will not now be possible to legislate in time.
After careful consideration the UK Government’s view is that this
service should only be rolled out with enhanced safeguards to prevent
electoral fraud. This aligns with the Government’s position that the
proxy and postal voting system has fraud risks that need to be
addressed.
Until the service is deployed, electors will of course continue to be able
to apply for an absent vote by downloading relevant forms online.
Legislation will be introduced as soon as the opportunity arises. Note
that a future online absent vote application service may look different
to the service some members may have seen demonstrated, due to
further enhancements.
The Cabinet Office would like to thank everyone who has taken part in
research to develop the service to date. They also stress that they will
continue to work with Scottish and Welsh governments, stakeholders
and local authorities to help ensure the resilience of the polls next May.
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Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020
The Parliamentary Constituencies Act received Royal Assent on 14
December. The final provisions of the Act amend existing legislation,
making provision for the:
• number of constituencies (maintaining the current 650);
• rules governing how boundaries should be drawn and the boundary
review process;
• process for bringing those recommendations into legal effect.
The Bill brings the 2018 boundary review (conducted on the basis of
600 constituencies) to a close without implementation.
Throughout the passage of the Act there were five successful
amendments:
• The use of 2 March 2020 electoral register data, rather than 1
December 2020 data, for the next boundary review, due to the
impact of Covid-19 on the canvass.
• The creation of an additional protected constituency for Ynys Môn
(Anglesey).
• Three amendments providing that the draft Order in Council
implementing the Boundary Commissions’ final recommendations
must be submitted to Her Majesty, as soon as reasonably
practicable and within four months after all four Boundary
Commission reports have been laid before Parliament, unless there
are exceptional circumstances.
Increase in candidates’ spending limits - the Minister for the
Constitution and Devolution, Chloe Smith, has announced the UK
Government's intention to uprate spending limits for local government
elections candidates in England. The rate would increase in line with
inflation in time for 6 May 2021 elections. This uplift would consider the
change in the value of money since these amounts were last changed
and make sure limits remain consistent with the initial intent of
spending limits considered by previous Parliaments. Cabinet Office will
be in touch with electoral services teams directly to confirm final
amounts before the end of January.
The Parish and Community Meetings (Coronavirus) (Polls)
(Amendment) (England) Rules 2020 - to postpone parish polls -
was laid before Parliament on 2 December 2020 and comes into force
on 31 December 2020. You can read the legislation and accompanying
Explanatory Memorandum on the legislation.gov.uk website.
Covid-19 FAQs – keep up to date with our FAQs. Other useful
resources are available on our Covid-19 webpage.
May 2021 polls – the Electoral Commission has published a range of
resources to support local communications activity.
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2. WATCH OUT FOR
AEA Annual Conference 2021
Annual conference 2021 flyer
Annual conference 2021 booking form
3. MEETINGS ATTENDED (all via video link)
AEA
Board – 2 December
Branches: Scotland and Northern Ireland (3 December), Wales (3
December), West Midlands (4 December), London (4 December), South
West (8 December), South East (8 December), East Midlands (9
December), Eastern (9 December), Southern (11 December).
Abbreviations: CO = Cabinet Office, EC = Electoral Commission, SAA =
Scottish Assessors Association.
Cabinet Office
Implementation working group (canvass reform) IWG – 7
December – discussed year one canvass reform evaluation,
application data and better metrics planning for 2021.
Elections and registration roundtable – 7 December – the Chief
Executive discussed current issues and challenges faced by the
electoral community with the Minister and senior CO officials.
Electoral intimidation – 7 December – discussed a working policy
paper.
Elections and registration project board – 9 and 17 December –
discussed Voter ID, overseas electors, absent voting, registration
volumes, campaigning measures and communications.
Resilience of May 2021 poll working group –10 December – key
stakeholders received updates from different sectors, considered the
funding guidance, emergency proxies, digital absent vote service, EC
supplementary guidance, Department of Health and Social Care
restrictions, lessons from Scottish by-elections and reviewed the
project plan and risks.
Digital development update – 14 December – the CO digital team
updated us on changes to the IER Digital Service, online absent vote
applications and other planned work.
Undue influence – 17 December - discussed a working policy paper.
Electoral Commission
Bilateral – 7 December - discussed: Elections: 2021 May polls,
devolved nations, emergency proxy applications – Covid-19 and
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beyond, online absent vote applications, PAROs. Electoral Registration:
canvass reform - canvass 2020 publication and ERO performance
standards, registration funding. Other: Fees and charges - European
parliamentary elections, accessibility, suppliers, road map to 2024.
Wales electoral practitioners working group – 15 December –
discussed: Democracy Club polling station finder, post canvass
feedback, elections 2021 including legislation, planning, Royal Mail,
performance monitoring, public awareness and political literacy
resources and deferred polls.
Other
Wales Electoral Coordination Board – 18 December -discussed:
elections 2021 including guidance, PARO/RRO appointments, training,
public awareness, legislation, capacity and resilience and Welsh
language.
PART B – CONSULTATIONS
4. FORMAL CONSULTATIONS
There have been no formal consultations.
5. INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS
Cabinet Office
• Survey - May 2021 PCC poll combination.
• Tactile Voting Device/Audio accessible voting process - testing and
feedback.
• Existing overseas elector’s online user journey.
• Working policy papers - electoral intimidation, use of the electoral
register and undue influence.
Electoral Commission
• Key considerations for the May 2021 elections: Verification and
Count – England, Scotland and Wales versions
Other
• Welsh Government - Early voting scenario for the 2021 Senedd
election
• Welsh Government – Postponed by-elections guidance
LEGISLATION UPDATE
Draft Legislation
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• Fixed Term Parliaments Act Repeal Bill
• Scottish General Election (Coronavirus) Bill
• Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill
• Overseas Electors Bill
New Legislation
Elections:
• The Representation of the People (Variation of Limits of Candidates’
Election Expenses) (England) Order 2020
• The Parish and Community Meetings (Coronavirus) (Polls)
(Amendment) (England) Rules 2020
• Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2020
• Representation of the People (Election Expenses Exclusion) (Wales)
(Amendment) Order 2020
• The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Order 2020
• The Scottish Local Government Elections Amendment Order 2020
• Representation of the People – The Postponed Elections and
Referendums (Coronavirus) and Policy Development Grants
(Amendment) Regulations 2020 Local Government: England,
Police: England and Wales
• Scottish Government: Scottish Elections (Franchise and
Representation) Bill
• Scottish Elections Reform Bill
• The Local Government (Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections)
(Wales) Regulations 2020
• The Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner
(Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections and Referendums)
(England and Wales) Regulations 2020
• The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Amendment) Order
2020
• The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Designation of Police
Area Returning Officers) Order 2020
• The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Designation of Local
Authorities) Order 2020
• Representation of the People: The Greater London Authority
Elections (Amendment) Rules 2019 (SI re home address on ballot
papers at GLA elections)
• European Parliamentary Elections Etc. (Repeal, Revocation,
Amendment and Saving Provisions) (United Kingdom and Gibraltar)
(EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2019. The Regulations provide
for legislation governing European Parliamentary (EP) elections to
remain in place until 31 December 2020 to enable the necessary
processes following the EP poll on 23 May 2019 to be completed.
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Registration:
• The Representation of the People (Electoral Registers Publication
Date) Regulations 2020 - England
• The Representation of the People (Electoral Register Publication
Date) (Wales) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 – Wales
• The Representation of the People (Electoral Registers Publication
Date) (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 - Scotland
• Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) Amendment
(Scotland) Order 2020 - canvass reform legislation for Scotland
• Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Miscellaneous
Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 - canvass reform
legislation for Scotland
• The Representation of the People (Data Matching) (Scotland)
Regulations 2020
• The Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment)
Regulations 2019 – canvass reform legislation for England
• Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment)
(Wales) Regulations 2020 - canvass reform legislation for Wales
Other:
• Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020
• Coronavirus Act 2020
• Scottish Government: Referendums Scotland Bill
• The Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations
2019 (SI 2019/731)
• The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual
Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1378)
PART C – USEFUL RESOURCES
6. REGISTRATION DATES 2020 and 2021
We have produced the following:
2020
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2020 – England and Wales
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2020 – Scotland
• Registration dates table for 2020
Register publication dates 2021 – 1 December publication:
• England and Wales
• GLA
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2021 – England and Wales
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2021 – Scotland
Register publication dates 2021 – 1 February publication:
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• England and Wales
• GLA
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2021 – England and Wales
• Rolling Registration Flowcharts 2021 – Scotland
7. ELECTION TIMETABLES
We have produced the following:
• Statutory election timetable 2021: PCC and Local
• Statutory election timetable 2021: Senedd and PCC
• Statutory election timetable 2021: GLA
• Election timetable for all elections in England and Wales 2021 –
detailed summary
• Interim Election Notice of Alteration Dates for Local Government
Elections 2021 – England and Wales
• Interim Election Notice of Alteration Dates for Local Government
Elections 2021 – Scotland
• Statutory election timetable 2022: Northern Ireland Assembly
8. OTHER AEA RESOURCES
• Covid-19 FAQs. Other useful resources are available on our Covid-
19 webpage.
• Freedom of Information request reply – information provided
• Freedom of Information request reply – information not provided
• Retirement and take up office dates 2021
• Polling District Reviews – ‘Do I need to undertake a polling district
review to change polling places for local elections in 2021?
Electoral Registration
• SMS Templates for the reformed annual canvass
• Sale of the electoral register: fees calculation:- guidance document
- calculation spreadsheet
• Appointment and responsibilities of statutory officers involved in
the electoral process
• Electoral Registration Officer – Resources and Funding
Elections and Referendums
• Coronavirus – Issues and considerations for 2021 polls
• Parish/Community Polls
• Returning Officer Reservation of Powers (England and Wales)
• Deputy Returning Officer appointment for elections held in Great
Britain
• Appointment and responsibilities of statutory officers involved in
the electoral process
• Guidance for voters and voting compartment notice for elections
Go to Contents pagePage 21
held in Great Britain
• Role and Responsibilities of Election Agents
• Business Improvement District (BID) Elections
• Business Improvement District Election Results Collation
AEA Policy Positions
• AEA Policy Positions
• Provision of polling districts and polling places
• The use of schools as polling places
• Electoral registration funding
• Sale of the register of electors
• UK Bank holidays and electoral administration
9. MONTHLY REMINDER LIST
Don’t forget to check our monthly reminder list of key dates and
activities.
10. LOCAL AUTHORITY CONTACT LIST
Available here.
PART D – PREVIOUS UPDATE
Updates from last month and previous editions are archived on our
website.
New feature - this month’s FAQ
E ach month, we will highlight an FAQ from the Member Support
section of the website. They are reviewed on a regular basis, this
month’s having been checked in December.
Situation of polling stations notice
Q. Where two elections are combined, can a combined Situation of
Polling Stations notice be produced for all elections?
A. No – It is the view of the AEA that it is not possible to issue a
combined Situation of Polling Stations notice. Given that the legislation
for each electoral event refers to the need to include a statement on the
Situation of Polling Stations to indicate that the poll is to be taken
together with another poll and specify what the other poll is would infer
that it is not possible to produce a combined notice.
Go to Contents pagePage 22
Changes to candidate spending
limits for May 2021 elections
W e hope you have managed to have a restful festive period and we
want to wish you all a Happy New Year.
On 22 December 2020, The Representation of the People (Variation of
Limits of Candidates’ Election Expenses) (England) Order 2020 came
into force. This Statutory Instrument raises the spending limit for
candidates at local government elections in England to £806 per
electoral area, plus an additional 7p per elector.
The increase reflects changes in the value of money since these
spending limits were last reviewed in 2014.
What do you need to do?
As Returning Officers and their teams are responsible for receiving
spending reports, you need to make sure you are aware of the correct,
updated spending limit for your electoral area for when you receive
these returns for the relevant elections in May 2021 and in future
years.
You will also need to make sure that any figures for candidates
published by your council includes the correct figures. The Electoral
Commission are aware of this change and so it will be reflected in their
election guidance for candidates.
If you have any questions, please email
thomas.collie@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
NOTE: This message was sent out to all electoral services teams
towards the end of last week.
Go to Contents pagePage 23
Advertising job vacancies
Y ou will all be familiar with the fact that we
publish advertisements of job vacancies
regularly on the website, by circulating details to all
members by email, and via listings in Arena and the
weekly newsletter.
You may not want your inboxes filled with
information about available jobs and we are sorry
about that if you are not in the market, but what must be appreciated is
that this is just one commercial element of the many services we
provide, with a detailed pricing tariff and a fixed administrative
procedure. We need to generate income to enable us to provide services
which benefit our members. We are a company after all and need to
balance the books!
If you haven’t taken advantage of the service before, submitting
requests for advertisements couldn’t be much simpler and involves the
submission of details online via a request form, having first read, learnt
and inwardly digested the information on the website! We guarantee
publication within 24 hours of receipt of this although, in practice, we
normally action them within an hour or two.
Apart from completing the form, you’ll need to attach a copy of the
advertisement itself and your employer’s logo - this is an eyecatcher and
is used on the website, in the newsletter and Arena. The notification by
email is an optional extra and we find that the majority of advertisers do
tend to choose it.
So, there you have it in a nutshell, if you need to advertise a job
vacancy, come up and see us sometime.
Our Training and Education Officer,
Tasha Davis, has many strings to her
bow, and she now also deals with the
publication of job advertisements.
Nigel Hurll
Website Manager
Go to Contents pagePage 24
W e thought you might find this item in an edition of the Evening
Standard from 14 February 1945 interesting. Never mind the
small matter of wrapping up World War II, we needed to get “the
register” printed!
Go to Contents pagePage 25
CRYPTIC MOVIES
H ere’s this month’s puzzle and you have 15 cryptic clues to the titles
of well-known films to solve. The number of words in the title is
shown in brackets.
1. An extremely angry opponent for the toreador (2)
2. Fine testament searching (3)
3. French=perdu, Spanish=perdido, Dutch=verloren, Latin=perdito (3)
4. Covered in broken fragments of stone (1)
5. A few prefer it to be quite warm (4)
6. Facebook (3)
7. Tale of a plaything (2)
8. Spirit breakers (1)
9. Righters of wrong get together (2)
10. Boxers in a water supply (2)
11. Cutting edge bean (2)
12. He’s formally appointed at the christening (2)
13. They plundered Noah’s missing boat (5)
14. Story of fleshy tissue (2)
15. The Australian magician (4)
ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S PUZZLE ARE ON PAGE 26
Go to Contents pagePage 26
1 2
3
4 5 6
8 9
10
7
12 11
13
Go to Contents page
14
ANSWERS: 1 Line of Duty, 2 Call the Midwife, 3 Broadchurch, 4 Killing Eve, 5 Jeeves
& Wooster, 6 Game of Thrones, 7 Some Mothers Do ‘ave ‘em, 8 Banana Splits, 9 24,
10 Stingray, 11 Still Open All Hours, 12 Steptoe & Son, 13 Kojak, 14 Blue BloodsPage 27
Goodbye, good luck and thank you
T wo of the AEA’s long serving consultants have recently left the fold.
Linda Lawty had two stints with us, first in 2012 and after going
back to work as an electoral services manager for a couple of years, she
then rejoined the consultancy panel in 2015.
Whilst with us, Linda covered the full gamut of electoral services in her
assignments, the annual canvass, reviews and all types of elections and
referenda.
Ross Thompson joined us a consultant in 2012 after a career in local
government and following a spell with the Electoral Commission.
Ross soon proved his ability to turn around services which had been
experiencing problems and gain the confidence of the management, the
teams, and our partners.
We would like to thank them both for their work and dedication during
their time with us and wish them a well-deserved long and happy
retirement.
PPE for the May 2021 elections
I n the weekly newsletter on 6 January, we
made reference to the availability of PPE
for the May elections from producers
working with UK Government. Following
queries from a few members we wanted to clarify that the AEA is not
looking to provide PPE for members or act as an intermediary in the
procurement of PPE.
We will provide further details on the PPE available from producers
working with UK Government shortly. As mentioned in the members’
monthly update earlier in this issue, it will then be for you to decide
whether you wish to purchase the PPE from these producers and place
orders directly with them. As with any procurement exercise, it is
advisable if it is done on a regional or sub-regional basis, with greater
volumes generally allowing for more competitive rates.
Go to Contents pagePage 28
Click the employer’s logo to get further details and/or how to
apply for the post.
Elections Service Manager
Employer: Salford City Council
Salary: £45,859 - £47,769
Closing Date: 18 January, 12 noon
Electoral Services Manager
Employer: Waverley Borough Council
Salary: £49,688 – £55,536 per annum
Closing Date: Midnight Friday 15 January
Elections Manager
Employer: Harrogate Borough Council
Salary: £32,910 - £35,745
Closing Date: 17 January
Go to Contents pagePage 29
AND FINALLY…
W e hope you all had as pleasant a Christmas/New Year break as
possible in what have been the most challenging of
circumstances. With the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines, things can
only improve and we hope for a swift return to some kind of normality,
although I don’t think I’ll ever stop washing my hands every 10
minutes!
As usual, please suggest anything you’d like to see and/or consider
contributing something - news (good, preferably!), and particularly
pictures/accounts of your team’s activities. Please email the Editor:
lesley.hales@aea-elections.co.uk.
Arena magazine is issued on a monthly basis. It is one of our key
channels for communicating with members. Please keep us informed of
any staff changes within your team. This will help us to keep our
membership records and mailing lists up to date.
We will manage your personal information and contact details in line
with the General Data Protection Regulation and UK data protection
legislation as outlined in our privacy notice.
The information included in this publication is of a confidential nature and intended
for Members of the AEA only. If you are not a member, any disclosure, copying or
distribution by you is prohibited and may be unlawful. Disclosure to any party
other than the recipient, whether inadvertent or otherwise is not intended to waive
privilege or confidentiality. Any views expressed are those of the author/
contributor of the relevant item or the Website Manager and not the Association as
a whole unless specifically stated.
Association of Electoral Administrators - a Company Limited by Guarantee -
Registered in England and Wales No. 2406897, Registered Office: Harance House,
Rumer Hill Road, Cannock, Staffs WS11 0ET
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