Preparing for a UK Parliamentary General Election - 6 October 2023 Joint Conference
Video of the Conference
Preparing for a UK Parliamentary General Election and Beyond: A joint Electoral Management Board for Scotland / Electoral Commission conference for Scotland’s Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, Friday 6 October 2023, 10.00am – 3.30pm
Morning Session
Video of the morning session, with timestamps
Covering:
- The roles & responsibilities of the RO & ERO - Introduction to new ROs and EROs to the Scottish electoral community. This session will highlight and review the personal importance, insight, involvement, and direction required of your team to meet your responsibilities and collaborative working to deliver multiple strands of change.
- Preparing Scotland for the next UKPGE and implementation of the Elections Act 2022 - An outline of what the Elections Act 2022 will bring to Scotland for both voters and administrators. We will examine the timing of the implementation of both tranches of the Act, convey experiences, lessons learnt and feedback from May 2023 in England and Welsh local elections and the recent recall petition in Scotland. The session will highlight considerations and resources to support planning and the consultation and engagement to successfully deliver at this poll.
- Constituency Boundary changes & implications - New UK parliamentary constituency boundaries will add a further dimension to your delivery plans. We will examine the resources and issues in reviewing polling places and districts in light of the Election Act 2022 and consider administration of constituencies crossing local authority/VJB boundaries.
Background material and copies of the slides are available on the Resources and Background Material page. Videos are best viewed on the Youtube site where the timestamps in the descriptions allow easier navigation.
Afternoon session
Video of the afternoon session, with timestamps
Covering:
- Accessibility The Elections Act 2022 sets out additional responsibilities for accessibility and we will provide an overview of the enhanced responsibilities for polling places but factoring in the end-to-end voter journey. Speakers provide experience of their approach during the May 2023 and update on the work of the EMB sub-group on accessibility. Chair – Monica Patterson, Returning Officer / Chief Executive, East Lothian Council
- Fees Charges and Funding. An update on DHLUC’s plans for fees, charges and cost recovery for UKPGE/Elections Act 2022 implementation and the digital provision for accounts submission.
- Update on Scottish electoral reform plans from the Scottish Government and eCounting for Council elections in 2027
- Closing Remarks from Daem Sue Brue and Malcolm Burr
Background material and copies of the slides are available on the Resources and Background Material page. Videos are best viewed on the Youtube site where the timestamps in the descriptions allow easier navigation.