Report of the Chief Executive.

 

This report outlines the planning and governance arrangements for the implementation of existing and new duties within the Elections Act 2022 for Manchester. This includes developing extensive engagement and producing an Elections Outreach Pack.

 

The committee considered a report of the Chief Executive which outlined the planning and governance arrangements for the implementation of existing and new duties within the Elections Act 2022.

 

Key points and themes within the report included:

 

·       Providing an introduction and background to the Elections Act 2022;

·       Progress with the duties implemented in May 2023, such as voter ID and accessibility;

·       Community engagement and communications for elections in 2023 and 2024;

·       Governance and capacity, including the GM-wide Strategic Elections function, the Council’s Elections Act Steering Group and additional staff resources within the core elections team;

·       New duties which have come into force since the May 2023 election, such as online absent voting applications, changes to postal vote handling rules, changes to overseas voting and parliamentary boundary changes;

·       Ongoing preparations for a UK Parliamentary election;

·       The establishment of an Elections Act Forum and the development of the Elections Outreach Pack; and

·       Changes expected to be implemented after May 2024 elections.

 

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

 

·       Querying whether reference in the report to a ‘tactical voting device’ was correct;

·       If the Electoral Commission’s national campaign to publicise the Voter ID scheme had begun;

·       Requesting that the Elections Outreach Pack be recirculated to all members;

·       Whether a British Sign Language video could be created as part of the communications campaign and shared with the Deaf Centre;

·       Issues with Royal Mail postage deliveries and the impact this could have on applications for postal and proxy votes and Voter Authority Certificates (VAC);

·       Whether there were any issues with disability access during the May 2023 elections and if there needed to be any changes to polling stations as a result of this;

·       How much money could be expected from government grants;

·       If any additional groups had been added to the Outreach Pack;

·       How public engagement would be impacted by the pre-election period;

·       How confident officers were that the government would provide sufficient funding to cover the full costs of the implementation of the Elections Act;

·       How social media would be used to engage young people and first-time voters;

·       How changes to overseas voting rights would work in practice;

·       What the requirements were for photo ID in polling stations and whether a National Insurance number was required;

·       Whether any work had been undertaken to understand how many people chose not to vote in the May 2023 elections because of a lack of ID;

·       Noting delays to postal vote applications through the government overseas voting portal, and querying how confident officers were that residents would be able to register for and receive a postal vote on time if a snap general election was called;

·       The current wait time for deciding on overseas voting applications;

·       Whether there had been any changes to the candidate nomination form as a result of the Elections Act 2022 and whether members could have sight of the nomination form; and

·       Noting new rules restricting the handling of postal votes and querying how polling station staff would be trained to identify political campaigners.

 

The City Solicitor introduced the report and stated that there would be local and Greater Manchester mayoral elections in May 2024 and a general election at some point before January 2025, although the date of this had not been announced by the government. She reassured the committee that she and the Elections team were mindful of the need to prepare for these elections and this was underway. She stated that the report highlighted some areas which the Council was concerned about and where it was ensuring that additional resources were in place, given the additional requirements imposed under the Elections Act 2022. She explained that work was ongoing with communities to raise awareness of the new requirements, including those introduced in 2023 such as voter ID, and to ensure that as many residents as possible were enfranchised.

 

The Elections and Electoral Register Policy Officer stated that the Council had committed to a major engagement campaign to raise awareness of the new requirements under the Elections Act 2022 and that 10 factsheets had been developed. He stated that there had been significant engagement with community groups and this was ongoing. He explained that officers would be going out into the community, and in libraries for example, and that paper copies of the Elections Outreach Pack would be available for those without digital access. He reiterated that all members had received the Elections Outreach Pack by email and that any comments would be welcomed.

 

On behalf of the committee, the Chair commented that the introduction of voter ID was an example of the government trying to solve a problem that did not exist at a total cost of £700k. He also highlighted that 589 people in Manchester had been unable to vote in the election in May 2023 because they did not have any or the correct form of ID.

 

It was confirmed that reference in the report to a ‘tactical voting device’ was an error and should instead read ‘tactile voting device’.

 

In response to the committee’s queries regarding communications, the Head of Strategic Communications stated that the Electoral Commission’s national campaign began on 8 January 2024. He explained that the style and format of this was slightly different to the campaign ran in 2023 and it was not known how wide-reaching the campaign would be. He stated that the Council had provided feedback to the government on the need for the campaign to be more targeted but provided assurances that the national campaign would be supported across the Council’s channels.

 

Assurances were provided that the campaign content was being shared with the Deaf Centre through Community Health Equity Manchester (CHEM).

 

The Head of Strategic Communications explained that social media would be used to engage with young people through targeted geographical adverts and in-app adverts. Social media channels such as Facebook and TikTok would be used. He stated that this communication campaign had started and that messages would change in line with different phases of the elections process.

 

The Elections Outreach Pack would also be resent to all members.

 

With regards to how issues with the postal service were being addressed, the Electoral Services Corporate Delivery Manager explained that she was due to meet with Royal Mail following this meeting and that she would seek assurances that election-related mail would be delivered with priority. She stated that postal vote packs were sent first class and that poll cards were mailed as part of a priority scheme. She highlighted that there had not been any negative feedback regarding delivery of polling cards or postal vote packs in 2023 but that the Elections team would monitor the situation as and when things were due to be delivered.

 

The Elections Corporate Delivery Manager advised that there were some issues with accessibility to polling stations in 2023 but these had been addressed. She explained that polling stations were reviewed every year and assessed on accessibility and that officers undertook inspections prior to the delivery of poll cards.

 

In response to a query regarding funding for implementation of the Elections Act 2022, the committee was informed that the Council had received some grants from government and that it was awaiting the outcome of a Justification Led Bid (JLB). The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer stated that there was a shortfall of approximately £500k and it was not yet known how much of the remaining costs would be met by the government. She stated that the process for reclaiming elections expenses was onerous but that the Council had tried to ensure that there was a contingency for elections within the budget.

 

The Elections and Electoral Policy Officer explained that additional community groups were included in the Elections Outreach Pack when the service was made aware, and he invited members to provide information on any groups that might wish to be involved.

 

The committee was also advised that public engagement would take place until nominations open for candidates in March.

 

The Electoral Services Manager explained that overseas voters could register at their last registered address or where they were last residing. She stated that the government had provided guidelines for what constituted as a character of good standing and the Electoral Services Unit was currently using this as the basis for approving overseas voting applications. She stated that applications had only been submitted since 16 January 2024, so officers were still learning about the process.

 

It was stated that the communications campaign focused heavily on acceptable forms of ID for voters, and this was also included on poll cards and inside polling stations.

 

In response to a member’s query regarding how many people chose not to vote in the May 2023 elections because of a lack of ID, the Elections Corporate Delivery Manager stated that this information was not kept by the Elections team and would be resource-intensive to generate. She stated that political parties could look at the marked polling station registers which were released following all elections to gather this information.

 

Assurances were also provided that the Unit had additional resources to prepare for an influx of queries and applications when a general election was called. The Elections Corporate Delivery Manager stated that there was methodology which could be used to indicate turnout of the local and mayoral elections, and this could be used to understand staffing needs for a general election. The Council also had a bank of additional staff who could be utilised if needed.

 

The Electoral Services Manager explained that the current turnaround time for applications submitted through the government portal was 14 days to contact and receive a response from the applicant. She stated that all applications had been processed and that 44 applications were currently on hold whilst awaiting further information from the applicant.

 

Members were informed that there were no significant changes to the electoral nomination pack as a result of the Elections Act 2022. The Elections Corporate Delivery Manager explained that there would be a briefing for candidates and agents in late February which would provide detail on the nominations pack, any changes, and a guide to completing the form. She explained that the nomination form was available to download from the Electoral Commission website and agreed that an updated version and Manchester's guide as to how to complete could be circulated to all members.

 

In response to a question from the Chair, the City Solicitor explained that there were a significant number of staff employed in polling stations on Election Day which meant it would be difficult to train specifically to spot political agents. She stated that the emphasis of training would be on voter ID. She commented, however, that rosettes would be an indication of a political agent or candidate.

 

In concluding the item, the Chair wished officers luck in delivering the elections in May and the general election.

 

Decision:

 

That

 

1.     the report be noted;

2.     the Elections Outreach Pack be recirculated to all members; and

3.     a copy of the candidate nomination form be circulated to all members in advance of the Candidates and Agents Briefing.