Performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) were introduced following the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EAA). Both sets of Officers report to us on how they have performed against these standards.- Performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers in Great Britain (July 2008) (PDF)
- Performance standards for Returning Officers in Great Britain (December 2011) (PDF)
Find out more:
December 2011: Revised performance standards for Returning Officers in Great Britain
Following consultation, we have published a set of revised performance standards for Returning Officers in Great Britain. You can view the finalised standards and our response to the consultation below:
- Performance standards for Returning Officers (PDF)
- Performance standards for Returning Officers - Welsh version (PDF)
- Consultation response paper (PDF)
We have also produced guidance to support Returning Officers in meeting the standards. This guidance forms part of our best practice guidance for Returning Officers on planning for and administering the scheduled 2012 elections, which can be found on our resources for electoral administrators webpage.
In addition, we have published a timetable of when Returning Officers will be required to report on their performance against the standards for the May 2012 polls and the monitoring returns they will be required to submit:
- Timetable for submission of monitoring returns (PDF)
- Monitoring return for local government elections in England and Wales (XLS)
- Monitoring return for local government elections in Scotland (XLS)
- Monitoring return for Greater London Authority elections (XLS)
September 2011: New direction to Electoral Registration Officers to report their performance
We have issued a Direction to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Great Britain (PDF) to report against the performance standards. EROs are required to submit their assessment form (XLS) by 16 December 2011.
August 2011: Ensuring voters come first
We believe that voters in all parts of Great Britain should expect to see consistent levels of service and have recently intervened to address underperformance by some Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). We have published a report into EROs who have failed a performance standard in all three years. We have also published a list of all 45 EROs who have failed a performance standard in all three years and the outcome of contact made with these EROs. Read the report at the link below:
April 2011: Electoral registration service improving, but more work needed
Our latest report on Electoral Registration Officers' (ERO) performance in Great Britain shows electoral registration services are improving ahead of the 5 May polls, but some can still do better.
