Agenda item
Mayor and Local Government Elections 2018 Update
- Meeting of General Purposes Committee, Thursday, 8th February, 2018 7.00 p.m. (Item 4.2)
- View the background to item 4.2
This report provides the Committee with an update on preparations for the Mayoral and local elections on 3 May 2018.
The Police have been invited to attend the meeting to inform the Committee of their preparations for the 3 May 2018 elections.
Minutes:
Will Tuckley, Chief Executive and Returning Officer, introduced the report, which provided an update on preparations for the Mayoral and local elections on 3 May 2018.
Mr Tuckley provided more details on the possible postal vote pilot explained at paragraph 3.5 of the report. Mr Tuckley explained the pilot is expected to include three main components: improving advice to electors concerning safety and security of their votes; a sample of voters would be contacted to check they had received their postal vote packs; and a further sample would be contacted when their postal votes were received, to check they were completed and returned properly. Discussions concerning the specific details of the proposed pilot between the Returning Officer and Cabinet Office are ongoing. The Chair asked that the Committee be provided with a briefing note on the pilot, including the anticipated size of samples and what is being done to make guidance for postal voting as accessible as possible.
Mr Tuckley advised the Committee of a meeting at the Greater London Assembly the previous day where policing for the Tower Hamlets local elections 2018 was discussed by the GLAs Police and Crime Committee. The meeting was attended by Mr Tuckley, Claire Bassett, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission; Chief Superintendent Sue Williams, Borough Commander, Tower Hamlets, MPS; and Detective Superintendent Stuart Ryan, MPS (who was also in attendance at the Committee).
Mr Tuckley introduced the Committee to the Council's recently appointed Head of Electoral Services, Robert Curtis. Mr Curtis provided further detail on election planning, including:
- Numbers and training of election staff and measures to ensure their impartiality.
- Pre-election planning with the Police and Cabinet Office.
- A recently launched webpage which allows anyone to report concerns of electoral malpractice https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/council_and_democracy/elections__voting/Report_electoral_fraud.aspx
- Security at the count venue including the possibility of a photo ID entry system.
Further to the annual canvass information provided at paragraph 3.8 of the report, Mr Curtis asked the Committee to note that the relatively high number of non-responding properties was due in large part to new and unoccupied developments in the borough. Canvass figures are checked with the council tax and revenues and benefits services to ensure their validity. As a further security measure, all non-responding properties are sent a ‘no registered electors’ polling card.
The Committee raised a series of questions and concerns about the election, many of which were based on their experience of local elections in 2014 and 2015. Further to the questions and concerns raised by Committee members, Mr Tuckley and Mr Curtis provided information on the following areas:
- Logistics of the count: security, timings, persons permitted to be present at various stages of the verification and count.
- How training for presiding officers was designed to ensure they could deal with various issues which may arise at polling stations including intimidation, voting influence, pressure etc.
- The role of the Returning Officer at the count, including handling pressurised or intimidating situations and interpreting guidance issued by the Electoral Commission on dubious ballot papers.
- Staffing arrangements for the count including contingency plans in case of extended duration, re-counts, etc.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Ryan from the Metropolitan Police was attending the Committee as a guest to provide an update on planning for policing the election. Detective Ryan informed the Committee that his role concerned investigating electoral malpractice allegations for the whole of London. Helen Lewis had been due to attend the Committee to provide information specific to policing at the Tower Hamlets election, but unfortunately could not be present. Detective Ryan informed the Committee that, with regards to the Tower Hamlets election:
- There will be a police presence at every polling place, including Bangladeshi speaking officers where it is felt to be appropriate.
- Officers will have body-worn cameras to record incidents, though will be instructed these should only be in operation outside of polling places, to maintain polling secrecy.
- All police officers will receive a dedicated two-hour election training session. The training is bespoke to Tower Hamlets and has been approved by the Electoral Commission. Count training will also be provided to relevant officers.
- Tower Hamlets police officers will be on service within the count venue, whilst officers from Newham will provide support outside and around the venue.
- The police have been conducting intelligence scanning, including social media scanning.
- A reassurance group has been set up.
- There will be a renewed emphasis on publicising election policing and the outcomes of investigations of electoral malpractice allegations, to improve public confidence. The Chair suggested that the Council could assist with this by publishing outcomes reports on its website, which would complement the Council's communication and engagement strategy for the election.
The Chair thanked Detective Ryan for his contribution and welcomed the joined-up working between the Council and the Metropolitan Police to promote smooth operation of the local elections in 2018.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee:
1. Notes the report.
2.
Asks that a briefing note is provided to Committee members on the
possible Postal Vote Pilot referred to in the report.
Supporting documents:
- Mayor and Local Government Elections 2018 Update, item 4.2 PDF 90 KB
- Appendix A - Timetable for local elections in England: 3 May 2018, item 4.2 PDF 96 KB