Board minutes: 21 April 2021

Apologies were received from Sue Bruce, Commissioner.

 The Meeting Chair welcomed all to the meeting in particular John Pullinger, Chair designate who was attending as a participating observer whilst we await receipt of his Royal Warrant.

The Board were advised that due to there being two vacant Commissioner posts and apologies received from Commissioner Sue Bruce it deemed the meeting in quorate.

‘Quorum

Board meetings are quorate if there are at least six Commissioners present and able to take part in the discussion, of whom four shall be Commissioners appointed other than under Section 3A of the Act.’

The Board noted that board business scheduled for this meeting required Commissioners giving direction of travel to the Executive Team rather than decision making, which meant that no business items were deferred due to quoracy.
 

There were no new declarations of interest.
 

Resolved: That the minutes of the Commission Board meeting on 31 March 2021 be approved.
 

The Board received an oral update from the Chief Executive, Director, Electoral Administration and Guidance, Director, Communications, Policy and Research and Director, Regulation.

The Board noted that the electoral registration deadline had passed at midnight on Monday along with the postal voting deadline in England and Wales yesterday, with the deadline in Scotland having already passed on 6 April.

The Board noted that over 1 million electors had applied to receive postal votes in Scotland which was an increase from 18% of the electorate at the last comparable elections in 2016 to almost a quarter of the electorate now. There appears to be a broadly similar picture emerging across England and Wales, with increases being variable in scale but all manageable.

It was noted that one area that we continue to monitor is elections staffing, with the main concerns being around the potential for temporary staff to drop out close to polling day due to illness or self-isolation or general concerns about the safety of working at the polls on the day. Local authorities are working hard to ensure they are able to provide enough staff and have contingency to be able to respond should this happen.
 
Another area receiving a lot of focus specifically to these polls was the management of the verification and counting of votes, in particular how access can be managed safely and how candidates and agents will be able to oversee proceedings, including how to manage their expectations as to the fact that counts will look different and will take longer.

The Board noted that our main focus from the electoral administration perspective now is on responding to queries from local authorities, and in the last week alone we dealt with over 200 enquiries from electoral administrators; there are no particular patterns or concerns emerging from these at this stage, but we will monitor what comes in and our teams across England, Scotland and Wales will remain focussed on supporting local authorities over these final weeks of the election timetables.

The Board noted an update on the voter registration campaign, with 1.05 million applications to register being recorded across Great Britain during the campaign period. This exceeded the Commission’s targets in all areas, and its stretch targets for Wales, England and Great Britain as a whole.

It was further noted in the lead up to polling day we aim to support voters both directly and through media and other third parties, in order to provide an understanding on how to vote with confidence, particularly in light of Covid-19 related safety measures. This includes ongoing work with the media and through the Commission’s public information services.

The Board discussed ongoing engagement with Royal Mail, including understanding their progress on contingency planning.

The Board noted that our Chief Executive and Director, Electoral Administration and Guidance met with the recently appointed Chief Executive of Royal Mail. We were ensured that priority would be given to the delivery of campaign materials, our information booklets, poll cards, postal vote applications and postal ballot packs.

The Board requested to be kept abreast of any issues that may arise during the remainder of the election period.

Resolved: That the oral updates be noted.
 

The Board received the report providing an opportunity to review the proposed structure for the Corporate Plan 2022/23 – 2026/27 as it will be submitted to the UK, Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

The Board discussed the tone and language and pitching it at the right level with emphasis on delivering the Commission’s objectives and ensuring appropriate emphasis on work in all parts of the UK.

The importance of avoiding management speak was noted, to make it a clearer statement of the context of our role.
 
Commissioners Sarah Chambers, Stephen Gilbert and Joan Walley volunteered to liaise with report authors to provide support and input where necessary before bringing back to the June board meeting for approval.

Resolved: That the Board endorsed the structure for the Corporate Plan 2022/23– 2026/27.
 

The Board received a report providing an opportunity to determine the overall financial strategy for the Commission over the corporate plan period.

The Board discussed looking at options and opportunities in terms of the core budget as well as reflecting financial accountability for devolved work in Scotland and Wales.

It was noted that further iterations would come back to the Board.

Resolved: That the Board endorsed the proposed approach, but would want to consider further before adopting the strategy.

The Board received a report on our Annual Report and Accounts including a review of our performance from 2020/21.

The Board discussed the key messages for the Annual Report drawing attention to a range of topics to be noted.

Resolved: That the feedback from the Board will be incorporated into the drafting of the Report and shown in full as part of the draft Annual Report at the May Board meeting.
 

The Board received an oral update from the Chief Executive, Director, Communications, Policy and Research and Director, Regulation.

It was noted that the usual full written Chief Executive’s update report was not appropriate at this time due to staff elections work priorities and a significant proportion of work being on the elections as reflected in the update agenda item to the Board.

The Board noted the following updates:

Recruitment of New Commissioner for Northern Ireland

Interviews of shortlisted candidates have been held with John Pullinger, Chair designate as part of the panel. Next steps would be for the Speaker’s Committee to consider panel recommendation(s) followed by the Leader of main parties’ consultation, then back to the Speaker’s Committee then the House, followed by the issue of the Royal Warrant, so there’s still a few more months before finalisation.

Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL)

The latest information from CSPL is that they are looking to publish their report on aspects of the Political Finance regulatory framework, in July.

PACAC

Their review into the work of the Commission is at the stage of doing some oral evidence sessions. They have had one with UK academics that was positive. At the session on 27 April, they will get international academic inputs They will then plan to have a session with us, but no date has been scheduled as yet.

The Commission

We continue to operate effectively as a remote working organisation (elections work demonstrates that), recognising that there are impacts, including on staff well-being.

We have limited re-opening of our offices with social distancing in place and for priority business need only. This is based on a booking system that has limited numbers with no visitors.

Our HR policies have been aligned to work more flexibly in the office and remote working including surveying staff. We will trial this for a year to learn, adapt and settle in.

Electoral Integrity Bill

Preparations are underway for the Electoral Integrity Bill expected from the UK Government, with the establishment of a Commission project board to coordinate activity. The work is currently focused on ensuring our preparations for the Bill’s passage, and the need to support parliamentarians by providing accurate and
timely briefing on the Bill’s provisions; and on mapping out the necessary work to implement the provisions should they be passed into law.

Political Finance Online

The project has moved on from red to amber for the first time since difficulties with the developer. The budget has now been secured via the Estimate with two in-house developers also in place. Registration modules have been tested internally and preparations for reporting modules virtually now completed.
 
We have kept users updated throughout and now, with them planning how training and implementation will look. Training is planned for August and will be ongoing as and when needed.

Regulatory support strategy

We are on track for consultation on the regulatory support strategy after the May polls. This will involve survey work and targeted discussions. The targets will include those beyond the main parties; parties with elected representatives at local and regional levels and regulated donees.

We have already identified and finalised two new guidance products as a result of early engagement on regulatory support. One is on focussed guidance for accounting unit treasurers, many of who are volunteers and we want to support, and the other on how parties can do valuations of their services or commercial transactions.

Resolved: That the Board noted the updates on operations and matters arising.

The Board received the Commission Board action tracker noting further updates.

Resolved: That the Commission Board action tracker be noted.
 

Commissioners discussed items of business for future meetings. These would be reflected in the Forward plan of Board business at the May meeting.

Resolved: That the Forward plan of Board business be noted.
 

The Chair designate introduced himself to the Board. He was looking forward to working with the Board and staff of the Electoral Commission at such an important time for the electoral system. He hoped that his appointment process would be concluded in time for him to take up post as planned on 1 May.

The Board thanked Rob Vincent for his time and care as Meeting Chair and, as a body looking forward to the next phase.