David Simmonds

The Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents sets out the qualifications and disqualifications for candidacy. Its guidance for Returning Officers sets out how to process nominations

To be eligible to stand as a candidate for the UK Parliament, a Commonwealth citizen must either not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or hold indefinite leave to remain. To be eligible to register to vote in UK Parliamentary elections, a Commonwealth citizen must either not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or hold any form of such leave, including limited leave to remain.

The Electoral Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents sets out the qualification requirements for UK parliamentary elections and local government elections in England. Commonwealth citizens must meet these requirements to stand, and they must either have indefinite leave to remain or not need leave to enter or remain.

The Commission was not consulted on the announcement of the cancellation of unitary elections in May 2027.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have set out that the interim electoral arrangements - which will be used at the first elections to the new unitary authorities established under local government reorganisation - can be created using any combination of existing boundaries, whether that be parish, district, county or unitary wards or divisions.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has provided advice and guidance to local authorities to support them in their work to develop interim electoral arrangements. This has included making available its electoral review guidance which sets out the criteria that it takes into account in determining ward boundaries during a normal review.

The Commission has made clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, have regard to the criteria that would inform an electoral review - electoral equality, community identity and interests, and effective and convenient local government – in developing their interim electoral arrangements.

The Commission will undertake a full electoral review of all newly-formed authorities before their subsequent elections.

The Electoral Commission has not made an assessment on the average cost of holding and administering elections, as it is not responsible for funding elections. The UK Government, through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, provides funding for the administration of parliamentary by-elections. The Combined authority and local authority will fund the cost of running their own by-elections respectively.

The Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales sets out eligibility requirements.

A person must be resident at the address at which they want to be registered. Residence has a particular meaning in electoral law and is not equivalent to residence for other purposes. Normally, a person is resident at an address for electoral purposes if it is their permanent home address.

When making a determination on someone’s residence, Electoral Registration Officers will need to consider the circumstances of the applicant, including the purpose they are present at a particular address.

The Electoral Commission outlines the disqualification criteria at each relevant election in its guidance for candidates and agents. Due to the complexity of the rules, it does not provide direct advice on whether someone is qualified or disqualified from standing. Instead it recommends that candidates seek their own legal advice if in doubt about their eligibility.

In its role supporting Returning Officers to deliver well-run elections, it has advised them to raise any queries about the matter with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In this instance the Hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner will need to consult the Diocesan Registrar or Diocesan Secretary of the Diocese of London as this is a matter for the relations and discussions between a local authority and the diocesan authorities. The contact details for the Registrar and Diocesan Secretary are available on the London Diocese website

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 the maintenance of a closed churchyard may be taken over by a relevant local authority. Should the local authority assess that they require the authorisation of a faculty to undertake a particular step, they should contact the diocesan registry team and the diocesan advisory commission. Should a faculty application be required, any fees which may be chargeable are set out in statutory fees orders which are approved by the General Synod and laid before Parliament and will be available from the diocesan registry on request. The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015 (as amended) specify some works which don’t require a faculty in which case those fees are not payable. The Rules can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1568/contents

The Electoral Commission takes allegations of electoral fraud very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way. The Commission encourages anyone who believes an offence has occurred to report it to the police.

The Commission supports the electoral community to prevent, detect and take action against electoral fraud. It supports electoral administrators and polling staff to protect the integrity of the polls, including through guidance and its polling station handbook which sets out how to protect the secrecy of voting in polling stations.

The Commission also runs its ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ fraud prevention and awareness campaign – in partnership with Crimestoppers – to remind voters to complete their ballot independently and in private.

The Government was required to consult the Electoral Commission before making the draft orders providing for flexible voting pilot schemes at the May 2026 elections in England. The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate and report on the May 2026 pilot schemes.

The Commission’s guidance for Returning Officers notes that they have a legal duty to have regard to the Code of Practice for observers when managing the attendance of observers at polling stations. The Code states that observers may bring irregularities, fraud or significant problems to the attention of election officials on the spot, unless this would contravene the secrecy requirements, and must do so in a non-obstructive manner.

The Commission is responsible under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for accrediting individuals and organisations who wish to observe electoral processes at elections and relevant referendums held in the United Kingdom.

Anyone over the age of 16, including those from outside the UK, can apply to become an electoral observer, provided they are politically impartial, have not been found or reported guilty of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice in the UK, and have not had previous accreditation revoked within the last five years.

Observers must adhere to the Code of Practice for electoral observers.

The Westminster Political Parties Panel was not consulted on the local election pilots.

The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate the May 2026 pilot schemes and will report on the pilots by August 2026. The Commission will also support local authorities taking part in the pilots as needed.

Across the piloting local authorities 16,000 people were added to the registers automatically. At the time of publication of the Electoral Commission’s evaluation, data from piloting authorities showed that 83 of those electors had been removed during the annual canvass. This is less than 1% of the number registered automatically as a result of the pilots.

As the annual canvass was not complete when the evaluation was finalised, the Commission recommended to the Welsh Government that they should request final data from Electoral Registration Officers to enable a final assessment of the matching accuracy.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) is aware of what has come to be known as the Rooney Rule, but this is a US initiative and we have not adopted a policy on it.

As both employer and custodian of the policy as set out in the Equality Act 2010 (The Act), OEO is familiar with the positive action provisions in the Act. These provisions enable employers to deploy positive measures in recruitment where certain groups are under-represented in the workforce, whether as a whole or in more senior positions. Candidates from the under-represented group must be equally qualified for the role alongside other candidates before they can be considered for selection. In other words positive discrimination, which disregards merit, is unlawful under the Act..

Since 2013, the Electoral Commission has recommended changes to strengthen the political finance regime, including changes that would improve the transparency and controls on donations. It has regular discussions with the Government on these proposals and will use its expertise and experince regulating the political finance regime to ensure any changes are workable and evidence based.

The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners to ensure they understand and comply with donation laws.

Its guidance sets out the requirements and checks necessary when accepting donations. Parties and campaigners are responsible for carrying out checks on donations they receive to ensure they are from permissible sources, and for properly and accurately reporting them.

The guidance makes clear that the law requires political parties to report unlawful donations and return them to the donor. It also explains that parties must not knowingly or recklessly make a false declaration about the true origin of the donation.

As well as issuing guidance, the Commission carries out permissibility checks on a sample of donations. It has the powers to sanction parties that accept impermissable foreign donations or do not comply with the political finance laws.

The Commission has recently published a range of data, including on the experiences of voters and candidates, from the 2024 general election as part of its statutory duty to report on elections.

It also publishes spending and donations data from parties, campaigners and candidates. It will publish returns received from political parties and register non-party campaigners in two stages, with returns under £250,000 published shortly and those over £250,000 published later in the year.

This will provide transparency to voters about the money spent and received by non-party campaigners at the general election.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance on notional spending, which outlines the reporting requirements for services or goods provided for free or at a discount.

The Elections Act 2022 changed the legal test for when a candidate must record notional spending. The Commission supports parties and campaigners to understand and comply with the updated law and how it should be applied in practice to their campaigns. It produced a statutory Code of Practice on controlled spending for non-party campaigners, which include the changes introduced to notional spending.

The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners on the donation laws, including the permissibility of donations given to UK-registered companies. The Commission has highlighted that the limitations of the current law mean it is possible for money from foreign sources to enter the UK electoral system, through donations from UK companies.

Since 2013, the Commission has called for the laws around company donations to be strengthened. It has recommended changes to ensure parties and campagners cannot accept money from companies that have not made enough money in the UK to fund the amount of their donation or loan. It also recommends a duty on campaigners to carry out enhanced know-your-donor checks and improved transparency over the political donations made to unincorporated associations.

The Electoral Commission has not published specific guidance on network algorithms used by social media companies.

Delibaretely adjusting an algorithm to favour specific candidates or parties may constitute a donation in kind, if this has been agreed with the candidate or party in question.

If the candidate or party is unaware of the adjustment, it is unlikely to be a donation as donations require acceptance from the recipient.

Intentially adjusting an algorithm may constitute regulated non-party campaigning by the social media company, but this would depend on the nature of the platform and the adjustment made.

The duty will require public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to actively consider how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. Guidance will be developed that will help relevant authorities comply with the duty once commenced. We will be updating Parliament on this in due course.

Public Digital are a commercial partner to the Test, Learn and Grow programme, led by the Cabinet Office, and their staff are now secondees.

The guidance on conduct for civil servants in relation to the May 2026 elections makes clear that civil servants - including special advisers - should not use official resources for party political purposes. This guidance is available on gov.uk. The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the rules for special advisers in relation to local political activity. This is also available on gov.uk.

This Government has strengthened the Ministerial Code. Decisions relating to recusals are made with advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Any relevant ministerial interests are published in the quarterly ‘List of Ministers’ Interests’. All tax decisions are taken by the Chancellor.

There is no such internal written guidance or advice.Whether a residence is an individual’s sole or main residence is ultimately a question of fact determined by the billing authority.

The issuing of council tax bills is a matter for the relevant billing authority.

Council tax discount, exemption, disregard and premiums billing for Admiralty House are determined by the Local Authority. In this instance, this would be Westminster City Council.

There are no such restrictions imposed.

The Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality is a declaration of hospitality received and gifts given and received in a ministerial capacity, in line with ministers’ obligations under the Ministerial Code.

The Cabinet Office publishes guidance setting out the process that departments should follow to complete the publication of the Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-publication-guidance/ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-publication-guidance.

The Neighbourhood Policing announcement was made by the government on 9 April. A link to the announcement made on 9 April can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-put-neighbourhood-bobbies-back-on-beat

The visit in question on 10 April was not an official government visit and therefore no civil service support was provided.

The Neighbourhood Policing announcement was made by the government on 9 April. A link to the announcement made on 9 April can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-put-neighbourhood-bobbies-back-on-beat

The visit in question on 10 April was not an official government visit and therefore no civil service support was provided.

The inaugural Council of the Nations and Regions met on 11 October in Edinburgh to discuss growth and investment. On 17 October the UK Government published a communique for the meeting on gov.uk which sets out the attendees and their organisations. The government also published the terms of reference which include the names and roles of the standing invitees.