Decision details

To approve the revised scale of fees and charges for election roles with immediate effect and agree that the council adopt fees and charges in line with MHCLG guidance moving forwards.

To approve moving to a pence per elector payment model for Returning Officer payments in line with other neighbouring authorities to make administration of elections clearer. This will be 5.3p per elector for Returning Officer fees with immediate effect moving forwards.

To approve a fee of £100 for the Deputy Returning Officer for by-elections

Wiltshire Council regularly monitors the scale of fees against those of other councils, though it is hard to compare the scale like for like due to few councils having the geographical or electorate size of Wiltshire. Prior to the 2024 Police and Crime Commissioner Election, MHCLG (formerly DLUHC) issued clear guidance on election roles and pay bands for local authorities to use when paying election staff. Fees and roles have been reviewed against these with additional job roles being identified and included in the fees and charges scheme for transparency and to fully account for the costs of elections.

To ensure consistency across all elections Wiltshire runs, we will adopt these fees for all elections as this would also be practicable should national elections be combined with local elections. We will increase our scale of fees and charges for election staff in line with the MHCLG pay banding, meeting minimum wage requirements.

Providing a competitive hourly rate will help recruit the 1,500 plus staff required to run elections in Wiltshire and ensure a consistent approach for staff working elections throughout the year.

With regards the approach to the Returning Officer fee, the council currently pays the Returning Officer a fee for the first 500 electors per division, followed by a separate fee for subsequent 250 electors, another fee for postal voters and also for poll cards. This is very time consuming to administer and calculate.

It is proposed to move to a pence per elector payment for Returning Officer fees. There is no proposed increase in payment for the Returning Officer and based on the current payment schedule the fee per elector will be 5.3p moving forwards with immediate effect.

The payment for DROs of £40 is outdated and does not factor in the responsibility of the role or the travel time/ evening working that goes alongside, often to rural locations.

I confirm that in making this decision I have considered the following in line with Wiltshire Council’s Constitution:

Key decision requirements: Yes

Views of relevant cabinet member(s), committee chairman, area board(s): Yes

Consultation with cabinet member(s), the Leader and Scrutiny (for Executive decisions taken under Emergency Powers):

Consideration of the area boards and delegated decision checklist for officers on the issue of when and how to involve local councillors and area boards in decisions about local services: NA

Implication of any council policy, initiative, strategy or procedure: Yes

Consultation in accordance with the council's consultation strategy: Yes

Range of options available: Yes

Staffing, financial and legal implications: Yes

Risk assessment: Yes

Involvement of statutory officers and/or directors: Yes

Regional or national guidance from other bodies: Yes

The council’s constitution: Yes

This contract is suitable for execution under the e-signature process: Yes

Maintaining separate fees for national and local elections was considered but this was discounted as it will be difficult to recruit staff without a consistent approach to fees and charges. It will also be difficult to manage if national elections are combined with national elections

Retaining the existing payment system for the Returning Officer. This was discounted due to the time taken to calculate payments for each division. A move to a pence per elector system will significantly reduce this demand.

Pay DROs the same pence per elector fee as the Returning Officer for by-elections. This was discounted due to the size of the electorate for some parishes.