South Cambridgeshire District Council have shared some important information about the 2022 local elections which is helpful for anyone thinking about standing.
Guidance for Candidates
The Electoral Commission publish significant guidance notes for anyone who is considering standing as a parish or town council candidate. You can find the guidance documents here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/candidate-or-agent/parish-council-elections-england. Please note that this guidance is still being updated for 2022, so keep an eye out for any changes. It is recommended that all candidates read this guidance, especially the parts relating to qualification and conduct.
Formal Notices
At key points during the election period several notices will need to be displayed within your parish. We will email clerks the relevant notices and ask that you kindly print and display them on the dates we request. The first notice is the Notice of Election which we will send to you in February or early March. This notice will need to be displayed on 28 March, and signifies the start of the election period. Further notices will follow after the close of nominations and in the run up to polling day.
Nomination Forms
Nomination papers can be downloaded from the Electoral Commission website through the link provided above. The Returning Officer is able to provide printed copies, but in the interests of sustainability, these will only be supplied on request. Nomination papers must be completed in hard copy (not digitally).
Nomination Period
Nominations must be delivered by hand to the Returning Officer (RO) at SCDC (Cambourne Business Park, CB23 6EA). They may be delivered at any time between 8.30am and 5.30pm on any working day between 28 March and 5 April. In accordance with the statutory timetable, the RO will stop taking nominations at 4.00pm on 5 April. Nomination papers must not be posted – we will return them if they are. However, they may be delivered by a “trusted person”. Where appropriate this could mean that a parish clerk can bring in nominations for a number of candidates in one go. It would help us for nomination papers to be delivered in bulk in this way to minimise the number of people attending the offices at one time. You may email us using the address above to make an appointment. However, even if you have an appointment, it may sometimes be the case that you have to wait a short while to see someone. All nomination papers will be informally checked before you submit them, allowing opportunity for errors to be rectified. For this reason we recommend you do not leave it to the last minute to submit your papers. If you need support with how to complete a nomination paper, please refer to EC guidance or send us an email.
Candidate Expenditure
Spending on campaigning at elections is limited by law. Full guidance can be viewed on the EC website. The RO will require all candidates (even at uncontested elections) to submit a declaration of their expenditure – even if it is a nil return.
Paying for elections
Parish and Town Councils are responsible for paying for the full cost of their election. It is likely that any parish election on 5 May will be shared with an election for a district councillor, thus reducing the cost burden.