Agenda item
Elections 2014 update and Tower Hamlets Local Code of Conduct
To consider and comment on the information provided in the report.
Minutes:
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND REASONS FOR URGENCY
The Committee was advised that Appendix B to the report had been marked to follow and had been circulated earlier and was tabled for Members’ consideration. The special circumstances and reasons for urgency associated with consideration of the appendix were set out on the front of the appendix as below:
“Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1972 provides for public access to meetings of principal councils and their non-executive committees and sub-committees, as well as to the business papers of those meetings. The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee is covered by this public access regime by virtue of section 9FA(6)(a) of the Local Government Act 2000.
A key requirement of Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1972 is that the agenda and any report to be considered at a council or committee meeting should be available for inspection by members of the public five clear days before the meeting. There are exceptions where the meeting is called on shorter notice or an item is added late to the agenda. The apparent intention of the publication requirement is to enable public participation in local authority decision making.
Section 100B(3) of the Local Government Act 1972 provides that an item of business may not be considered at a council or committee meeting unless either –
· the item has been available for inspection for the required length of time; or
· by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the minutes, the chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.
In this case, the principal report was published with the agenda five clear days in advance of the meeting. The report identified that further information would be forthcoming at a later date, which is contained within this appendix. As the information concerns work being done to prepare for the elections to take place on 22 May 2014 and no decision is being required by the Committee, the Chair of the Committee may take the view that it is appropriate to consider the additional information despite it not having been published five clear days in advance of the meeting.”
The Chair subsequently agreed the special circumstances and reasons for urgency, indicating that he was satisfied that the matter was urgent.
Mr John Williams (Service Head, Democratic Services) presented the report which provided
· an interim update of actions being taken to ensure the integrity of electoral registration and the 2014 elections.
· a draft Tower Hamlets Local Code of Conduct.
Mr Williams summarised the salient points in the report, outlining the key points for Members attention as follows. Ms Louise Stamp (Electoral Services Manager) was also present for this item.
· Officers were meeting regularly with the Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard, the Electoral Commission and other partners on electoral issues and the development of the Code of Conduct.
· A number of existing procedures were in place to promote integrity of processes at election time, including meeting with election agents to direct them to the Electoral Commission’s Code of Conduct and checks of all nomination papers by the Deputy Returning Officer.
· The training pack and briefing sessions for polling staff included a section on electoral fraud.
· A report on the number of properties with 6 or more electors is produced with officers making personal visits to all properties to confirm residency and updating the register as necessary. These checks to be carried out twice in the current year, once before the publication of the revised register and then two weeks before the deadline for registration.
· Prior to the issue of postal votes, reports are produced which detect any absent vote anomalies. Security checks enabled by new Regulations had been implemented.
· All postal voters requesting a re-issue are advised to follow a formal process, which is supervised by the Deputy Returning Officer.
· All postal voting statements are scanned and verified and statistical analysis is sent to all agents post-election.
· Postal votes would be sent out by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery.
· Post-election reviews take place with the Returning Officer and feedback is sought from Police, Agents and Presiding Officers.
· Following the publication of the new electoral register on 17th February 2014 the Mayor and all Councillors and political parties would be reminded to use up to date information for registration issues.
· A dedicated email address had been set up for the use of candidates, agents and campaigners.
· The draft Local Code attached as an appendix to the report would address local concerns about postal voting fraud and campaigning outside polling stations.
· A joint Communications Strategy would be produced with the Metropolitan Police to publicise the protocol and send out a message that fraudulent activity will be investigated.
· An independent report on electoral fraud matters was due to be published and officers would be preparing a response to that report for Members to consider. It was understood that the report would contain general recommendations for moving forward.
· Private housing blocks would be visited by officers over the next few weeks.
A discussion followed and Members made the following points:
· Concern was expressed over whether people would sign up to the Local Code of Conduct as it was not enforceable in law and whether the Police would take any action in the event of any breaches. Ms Stamp responded by assuring Members that both the Police and Electoral Commission had been involved in the drafting of the Code and would take action.
· There was concern over past problems of intimidation at polling stations and evidence of Councillors collecting forms from residents. Mr Williams advised that it was not an offence to collect forms from residents and deliver to the Council offices. However, Members were assured that all parties would be asked to agree to not do so. Police were keen to address past problems with voter intimidation at Polling Stations and this was addressed in the Code. Presiding Officers would also be briefed.
· It was felt that the wording of paragraph 4.2 of the Local Code of Conduct, which related to discrepancies due to the transient nature and the demographic of the Borough, should be revisited. Mr Williams undertook to look again at the wording of the paragraph.
· Clarification on when the Postal Votes would be sent out by Recorded Delivery was sought as there was concern that envelopes would be returned to the Sorting Office. Ms Stamp advised that, due to security reasons, Members could not be provided with the date of delivery. However, Members were assured that this would be carried out as soon as possible.
· There were concerns over the image of the Borough and the use of Council staff in publicity. Assurances were also sought over the support being given to smaller inexperienced parties and how severe the Police enforcement would be at the Polling Stations. Mr Williams advised that officers were conscious of the Police not taking a hard line with their enforcement. However there had been serious incidents of intimidation in the past and it was important not to have a repeat in the next election.
· Clarification was sought over how officers would address the issue of additional names on the electoral register. Ms Stamp advised that work was carried out daily on logging and scrutinising the numbers of voters at properties in the Borough. Properties had been visited with verification requested and checks would continue to be carried out.
The Chair concluded the discussion and made the following points:
· The work with the Police was welcomed and every effort should be made to prevent electoral fraud.
· The proposed Communications strategy was welcomed and the Council should ensure the message gets out to all media channels, if necessary engaging a bilingual officer to liaise with all local radio and tv channels, that residents should not allow any fraudulent activities to take places in their properties.
· It was suggested that a script be written for all parties to use, and possibly to record a message on video to be shown on all possible communication channels to have a real impact.
· Officers should liaise with Members if necessary to help them access local media channels.
· Officers should keep the Chair updated on progress and the detailed information would be reviewed in due course. It was very important to take all necessary precautions to protect the integrity of the Borough in the 2014 elections.
The Chair then Moved and it was
Resolved
1. The draft Local Code of Conduct at Appendix A to the report be noted; and
2. The progress update at Appendix B be noted, subject to the comments made above.
Action by:
John Williams (Service Head, Democratic Services, CE’s)
Louise Stamp (Electoral Services Manager, CE’s)
Supporting documents:
- Local Code OSC report 070114 DG2012131347pm, item 7.3 PDF 123 KB
- OSC January 2014 Elections update Appendix B Final, item 7.3 PDF 85 KB