EA Bulletin: 427 England

We recently published updated spending return forms for the 2026 elections. We are sharing links to the forms and a summary of key changes with you to help with signposting and queries you may receive in the coming months.  

We have made some changes to the forms from previous elections to make them simpler and more user-friendly. These reflect changes we trialed for the candidate return for English local elections in 2025.  

We recommend using the updated versions of these forms. The table below provides updated versions of the form in both XLSX and PDF. 

Overview of changes  

• Most totals are now calculated automatically. Users just need to add each item of spending to the relevant worksheet. Subtotals will be automatically added to each sheet and to the summary page of the form.  
• If a worksheet has no data to enter, users are asked to actively label it 'NIL' on the summary page of the form. This is to check that all sheets have been completed.  
• There are no separate explanatory notes. Instead, there is general guidance on the first page and then specific notes added on the relevant sheets, with links to guidance.  
• The form will warn users if certain totals do not match, for example, if users have not selected a spending category for an item. 

Parish candidate return  

• The parish candidate nil return has been combined with the declaration to make it simpler, in response to feedback we received following May's elections. 

As set out in bulletin 426, we are now collecting orders for hard copies of polling station handbooks and quick guides for use at the May 2026 polls.

We understand that some of you may be concerned about ordering handbooks while there is some uncertainty about the May 2026 polls. If you are currently scheduled to have polls next May, please do submit your order as we will not be able to add to orders after the deadline.

If you haven’t already done so, the deadline for completing the online order form is this Friday 16 January.

We will be printing to order so it is important that you provide us with your figures by the deadline. Please note that once you have submitted your order form, you will not be able to amend your order yourself. If you need to make any changes to your order, please contact [email protected].  

We will confirm the timing of the delivery of the hard copies in a future bulletin. 

As we approach the May 2026 polls, we are collecting information from all local authorities who have polls.  We appreciate that there is some uncertainty in the electoral sector around the May 2026 polls. Until we understand more about the government’s plans, we will continue to operate on the basis that the 2026 elections will take place as normal. Therefore, we still need to collect this information from you.

This information is necessary for us to clearly understand the arrangements in place for the delivery of polls and how local authorities plan to deliver the outcomes of the RO Performance Standards. Survey responses also help highlight where we can offer support and provide key statistics that can answer enquiries from the media and elsewhere.      

The survey covers areas such as resourcing, accessibility, and planning for the May 2026 polls. The deadline for completing the surveys is Friday 23 January 2026.    

If you are an RO and have not received an email with a link to the survey or have any questions regarding the surveys, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].   

As part of our work to support the safety and security of everyone who wants to participate in elections, we have previously advised that Returning Officers (ROs) should work with their local Force Elected Official Adviser (FEOA) and provide candidate contact details (email address and/or telephone numbers) to them as soon as possible after the close of nominations.

To support ROs in advance of the May polls, we have added a candidate contact details sheet to our nomination pack, which will enable you to collect this information as part of the nomination process.  Although not mandatory, this form has been added to the nomination pack to enable candidates to complete and submit it, if they so wish, as part of their nomination papers.

Collecting these details will enable you as RO to contact candidates quickly and consistently with information about the election and will also allow you to share these details with the FEOA, to enable them to contact candidates directly with relevant and timely security information about the election.

There is a lawful basis for sharing the data with the police (article 6(1)(e) General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)) and in our view it’s necessary and proportionate to share this data to fulfil the RO’s statutory functions of safely and properly conducting an election.  Your Data Protection Officer will be able to advise on any specific implications to your own local data protection policies, and it will be important to update your main privacy statement accordingly.

If you have any queries, or need any further support, please contact your local Commission team.