By-Elections
In a letter to Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, the Government as confirmed that it does not intend to alter current legislation postponing all English elections until May 2021. As such, we do not expect any local government by-elections to take place in England before 6th May 2021. You can read the letter here.
In the meantime, the Pending List will continue to be updated, so please do check out the document link at the bottom of the page.
Local Government Coronavirus Information Pack
MHCLG have created a Coronavirus information pack for local councils, which is continually updated with the latest news on issues including housing; local business rates; enforcing closure guidance, especially in relation to current pandemic. You can access it here.
Selection Procedures
An updated selection process, encompassing all three stages, for elections taking place in May 2021 has now been released. These procedures have been approved by the Party Board and this is the only process which may be used between now and May 2021 to select candidates for next year’s scheduled elections. We do not intend to issue any further updates or revisions to the procedure prior to the May 2021 elections.
If you would like a copy of the updated selection procedures, please get in touch with the CCA Team.
Letter to Councils About Local Authority Meetings and the Postponement of Elections
MHCLG have released a letter sent to Local Authority Chief Executives, which explains two sets of regulations made under the Coronavirus Act 2020.
The first set of regulations enables all local authority meetings before 7 May 2021 to be held remotely and removes the requirement for the annual meeting this year. The second set postpones until 6 May 2021 local by-elections and other polls, either scheduled or which would otherwise arise before that date.
You can read the full letter here.
Statement Regarding Group AGMs
Many Groups will already have taken the decision to postpone their Group AGM in light of the restrictions currently in place regarding non-essential social contact. As we have previously stated, the CCA will take no action against Groups who have had to postpone their meetings.
When considering rescheduling AGMs, we would encourage Groups to take the lead from their local authority and the plans they have in place for conducting the annual meeting of the Council when restrictions are lifted.
Continue to check the official NHS website for updates on Coronavirus, as well as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for updates on how the pandemic is affecting local authorities.