Guidance for (Acting) Returning Officers administering a UK Parliamentary election in Great Britain

Establishing a project team

You should establish a project team to support you in carrying out your functions and in delivering a well-run election. In addition to yourself, your project team should include any appointed deputies, other elections staff members and the ERO, where this is not yourself.  
It should also include any other key personnel you consider appropriate such as:

  • your council’s communications team
  • HR colleagues
  • finance colleagues
  • IT
  • your contact centre/front of house staff
  • facilities staff
  • your local Police single point of contact (SPOC)

Cross-boundary constituencies

If you are responsible for a constituency that crosses local authority boundaries, your project team should include the ERO and other relevant elections staff members from the other local authority area(s) to enable effective liaison in the planning and delivery of the polls.

Establishing a project team

The project team should have a clear remit and understanding of the tasks to be carried out. You should prepare a schedule of meetings at the planning stage, and keep a record of each meeting as an audit trail of what was discussed and of any decisions made. Where possible, the (A)RO should chair any project team meetings.

Last updated: 19 December 2023