Board minutes: 13 January 2026

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting. Particular welcome was extended to Ben Ashmore, the new Head of External Communications, attending his first Board meeting as an observer.

The Chair noted this was Michael Coldwell’s final Board meeting as Interim Head of Governance and recorded the Board’s thanks for his contribution to strengthened governance, assurance and Board effectiveness during his tenure.

No apologies were received and no new declarations were made.

Meet the Team

The Business Manager to the Chair and CEO introduced the Business Support Team and outlined their role providing strategic, administrative and governance support to the Chair, Chief Executive, Commissioners and Executive Team.

Team members described their respective responsibilities, including diary and engagement management, executive and committee support, event coordination, financial administration, and resilience arrangements through shared working practices

The Board noted the team’s emphasis on value for money, inclusive practice and continuous improvement.

The Chair thanked the team for the update and noted the Board’s strong support and appreciation for their work across the Commission.

The Chief Executive presented his update, supported by members of the Executive. He emphasised the Commission’s priorities in the next period were delivering the May 2026 elections and engaging with the Elections Bill.

Preparations for the Senedd elections were progressing well and there had been good engagement from the Welsh Government, the Electoral Management Board (EMB) and local authorities. 

Further engagement was planned with the Welsh Cabinet Secretary on 10 February, alongside Senedd members. The Board welcomed the EMB assuming day-to-day coordination responsibilities, reinforcing the Commission’s regulatory and assurance role.

In Scotland, there had been strong engagement with the Scottish Government, Parliament and electoral administration teams. Preparations were progressing despite recent extreme weather, which highlighted the resilience of staff and administrators.

Members noted that the Commission’s estimates had been approved by the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and welcomed the assurance this provided, particularly given the operational and legislative pressures ahead.

The Board discussed preparations for English local elections and the emerging likelihood of further postponements in some areas. The Chief Executive outlined the rationale for the Commission’s recent public statement opposing further postponement, particularly where elections had already been delayed once. There was unanimous Board support. Members discussed the additional complexity that could arise where county elections were postponed but district elections proceeded, increasing risk for voters, administrators and campaigners.

The Board considered the emerging timetable for the Elections Bill. The Chief Executive reported that introduction was now expected later than previously indicated, increasing delivery risk by compressing scrutiny and implementation timelines.

Members discussed ongoing engagement with ministers and officials at MHCLG and the importance of sustained parliamentary engagement. The Board noted that the Chief Executive was appearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee following this item, including to address issues relating to foreign interference and political finance.

The Chief Executive updated the Board on the commencement of Philip Rycroft’s review into foreign interference in UK elections. Significant additional workload would be created by the review, particularly given its overlap with elections preparation and legislative engagement. Members recognised both the opportunity to strengthen the evidence base for reform and the risk of unrealistic expectations around delivery timescales.

Other notable forthcoming engagement highlights included:

• Submission of the Commission’s formal response to the Speaker’s Conference on abuse and intimidation of candidates and elected representatives.
• Preparations for the Four-Country Conference, scheduled for 2–4 June, were underway.
• Forthcoming participation by Board member Carole Mills in an elections conference in India, with a focus on artificial intelligence and electoral integrity.
• Forthcoming Engagement by the Director of Communication with the New Zealand Electoral Commission, will cover voter engagement, education and candidate safety.

The Board noted progress on internal corporate activity, including the implementation of a new procurement system, appraisal moderation across the organisation, and preparation for an Executive Team organisational design workshop.

There was a substantive discussion on organisational capacity. Members expressed concern about the cumulative impact of elections delivery, the Elections Bill, the Rycroft Review and ongoing business-as-usual activity. The Chief Executive confirmed that activity was being prioritised sharply and that lower-priority work would be paused or deferred where necessary. Members emphasised the importance of protecting staff wellbeing and organisational resilience.

The Board confirmed its full support for the Executive in making difficult prioritisation decisions and recognised that some non-critical activity would need to slip in order to protect delivery of statutory priorities.

Resolved: The Board noted the Chief Executive’s update and supported the Executive’s approach to prioritisation and capacity management.

The Chief Executive, who was joining remotely from Portcullis House, left the meeting to attend a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Corporate Director presented the Finance and Performance update to November 2025 and the accompanying summary paper. The organisation remained operationally stable but was now operating in a markedly more pressured environment than in previous reporting periods.

The Board discussed performance against the strategic priorities. While headline performance indicators remained broadly on track, the underlying context had shifted significantly, with delivery increasingly affected by legislative uncertainty, workload compression and resourcing constraints.

Focus was given to the sustained and increasing volume of Freedom of Information requests with the Board discussing the operational challenge of meeting response deadlines and the emerging pattern of complex, multi-part and repeat requests. Members recognised the risk that FOI mechanisms could be used in a tactical or vexatious manner, placing disproportionate strain on limited specialist resources. Mitigations included strengthened triage processes, prioritisation protocols, redeployment of resource where feasible and enhanced senior oversight. Members sought assurance that the approach balanced statutory compliance with organisational resilience, and noted the importance of maintaining consistency and defensibility in decision-making.

The Board discussed headcount and recruitment, noting progress towards planned workforce growth but recognising the inherent lag between recruitment approval, appointment, onboarding and effective contribution. 
Members reflected on the interaction between workforce growth, staff wellbeing and delivery pressure and emphasised the need for realistic planning assumptions and for continued attention to workload distribution and resilience, particularly in operational and regulatory teams.

The Board welcomed confirmation that the Executive Team intended to review the Commission’s performance metrics ahead of the next planning cycle. Members supported ensuring that metrics remained meaningful, proportionate and aligned to statutory priorities, particularly in a period of rapid change.

Resolved: The Board noted the Finance and Performance Update and the November 2025 Performance Report.

The Board received an update on progress with the Westminster Main Estimate 2026/27, including emerging draft figures and engagement with devolved funding bodies. Members welcomed confirmation that the Commission’s estimates had been approved by both the Welsh Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. The Board noted that early engagement had helped reduce risk and improve confidence, particularly given the interaction between devolved funding settlements and the Commission’s Corporate Plan commitments.

Focus was given to the surplus position. Members recognised the underlying drivers, which included recruitment lead times, delivery phasing and uncertainty around legislative timetables. Narrative around the Main Estimate would emphasise delivery risk, workforce growth, and the necessity of maintaining resilience in an unpredictable legislative and electoral environment.

The Board emphasised the importance of demonstrating in the Main Estimate that financial prudence was being actively deployed in support of statutory delivery, rather than at the expense of it.

Resolved: The Board noted the progress made on the UK parliament main estimate prior to approval by online resolution in February.

The Board received a detailed presentation on the Postcode Look-Up Tool, the fourth and final Corporate Plan project subject to enhanced assurance arrangements. The item was introduced by the Director of Communications, delivered by the Head of Digital Communications, and was supported by Sym Roe, Founder Director at Democracy Club, attending as the key external delivery partner.

Members discussed the strategic importance of the project, noting its high visibility, operational criticality and direct impact on voter experience. 

Sym Roe outlined Democracy Club’s role in delivery, including data integration, system resilience and user-centred design. He described lessons learned from previous election cycles, the importance of accuracy and uptime, and the safeguards to manage demand spikes during elections.

Delivery risks were explored, including dependencies on external partners, integration with existing systems and the cumulative impact of delivering multiple large-scale projects concurrently.

Members expressed concern about staff workload and delivery compression, particularly in the context of elections preparation and legislative change. The Board emphasised the importance of sequencing, realistic phasing and avoiding over-ambitious timelines that could undermine quality or resilience.

The Executive outlined governance and assurance arrangements in place for the project, including milestone reviews, risk escalation routes and regular reporting. Members emphasised the importance of maintaining flexibility and revisiting assumptions as delivery progressed.

The Board welcomed the focus on accessibility and user needs, and noted the importance of aligning the project with wider digital and inclusion objectives.

Resolved: The Board noted the deep dive and confirmed its expectation of continued enhanced assurance reporting, including ongoing engagement with Democracy Club.

The General Counsel and her team provided an update on electoral law consolidation developments, focusing on the interaction between existing legal frameworks, emerging case law and the anticipated impact of the Elections Bill.

Members discussed the challenge of operating within a fluid legislative environment, particularly where guidance and regulatory positions needed to be developed alongside Parliamentary scrutiny rather than following settled legislation.

The Board explored the risks associated with premature guidance, legal challenge and stakeholder confusion, and emphasised the importance of maintaining legal robustness, clarity and consistency in all advice issued by the Commission. Members noted the importance of close coordination between legal, regulatory and communications functions to ensure that messaging to administrators, parties and campaigners remained accurate and defensible.

The Board was assured that legal risks were being actively monitored and escalated as appropriate, and that lessons from previous legislative cycles were being applied.

Resolved: The Board noted the Electoral Law Consolidation update and the mitigations in place.

The Board noted written updates from the Chairs of the two subcommittees held since the previous Board meeting.

The Chair of the People, Culture and Remuneration Committee provided an update from the most recent Committee meeting (1 December 2025), which had covered discussion of workforce capacity, pay, culture, workload pressures and organisational resilience. Members noted the Committee’s focus on staff wellbeing in the context of sustained operational pressure.

The Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee provided an update from the most recent Committee meeting (1 December 2025), which had covered assurance over risk management, internal control, internal audit activity and emerging strategic risks. Members noted the Committee’s consideration of risks associated with legislative change, elections delivery and organisational capacity.

The Board reflected on the assurance provided by Committees and emphasised the importance of strong governance and risk oversight during a period of heightened complexity and scrutiny.

The Board approved the minutes of both the Board meeting and the Board Development Session held on 25 November 2025, noting that they were an accurate record. 

The Board noted the forward plan of business.

There were no actions from previous meetings to consider, all having been resolved.

The Board noted the 2025/26 Board forward plan of business items and events.

24 February 2026, starting at 9:30, held in person and via Teams.