North Yorkshire Council

 

Executive

 

16/09/2025

RECHARGING FOR SCHEDULED PARISH ELECTIONS

 

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – Legal and Democratic Services

 

 

1.0         PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

 

1.1.      To seek a decision from the Executive on whether NYC should recharge parishes for the cost of all scheduled elections (next due to take place in 2027), including uncontested elections (scheduled and unscheduled) from April 2026.

 

1.2.       If recharges should be made, to seek a decision from the Executive on the preferred option to form the basis of those recharges.

 

 

 

2.0         SUMMARY

 

2.1.       This report seeks to review the existing policy on recovering the costs from parishes for their scheduled elections which take place on a 4 yearly cycle, the next being due in May 2027. More details on the costs involved and the options can be found at Appendix A.

 

2.2.       If not recharged the additional cost to North Yorkshire Council for contested parish scheduled elections is estimated to be between £150k and £200k (plus inflation) for each 4-year election cycle. Further costs will also be incurred by North Yorkshire Council in relation to uncontested elections.  

 

2.3.       There is the potential to recover circa £350k if adopting a shared basis for some cost elements as explained in this report.

 

2.4.       This report also seeks to introduce recharges for uncontested by-elections which are not currently captured within the existing policy, from April 2026.  

 

 

3.0         BACKGROUND

 

3.1.       Elections for parish councils are held every 4 years, with the next elections scheduled for 6th May 2027 (to be combined with elections to North Yorkshire Council). Between scheduled elections, casual vacancies can occur at any time, due to death, disqualification, or resignation of a councillor.  The Returning Officer (RO) as appointed under Section 35 RPA 1983 is the RO for parish elections within the principal authority boundary area.

 

3.2.       Under Section 36 Representation People Act 1983 the RO is entitled to reclaim from the parish council, expenditure incurred in relation to each parish council election, using a fixed scale of fees set at principal council level.  This includes the ability for the RO to reclaim costs incurred at scheduled parish elections. Scheduled parish elections usually coincide with principal authority elections, and some costs can be shared.

 

3.3.       The current policy is to only recharge for contested parish by-elections. This was agreed by the Executive on 18th July 2023 with a commitment to review the policy before the next scheduled elections in 2027. The current policy therefore does not provide for recharging any costs relating to:

·         Uncontested elections (scheduled or unscheduled)

·         Contested scheduled elections (May 2027 + 4 yearly)

 

 

4.0         PARISH ELECTIONS SINCE VESTING DAY AND THE NATURE OF RECHARGES

 

4.1.       Since April 2024, there have been 6 contested parish elections, the most recent being held on 31st July 2025. The full costs of holding these elections have been recharged to the relevant parish (save that North Yorkshire Council officer time during normal working hours has not been recharged).

 

4.2.      In addition, scheduled elections to the new Harrogate and Scarborough Town Councils were held on 1st May 2025. As these were scheduled elections for newly formed entities it was agreed that North Yorkshire Council would incur the full costs of those elections which was circa £200k.

 

4.3.       The main costs incurred for a parish election are print and postage of poll cards, print and postage of postal votes, production of ballot papers and other election stationery, election staffing, and the hire of premises. 

 

4.4.       Some costs incurred for elections can be predicted when applied to the variables of the parish, which will help to provide indicative figures to parishes in advance:

 

·              Staff fees are set based on an agreed North Yorkshire Elections Fees schedule (contained within schedule 2 in Appendix A), which uses national election fee pay bands set by central government as its basis.

·              An external print contract has been entered into by NYC for election printing, which also covers outwards postage costs of poll cards and postal votes

·              Cost of venue hire for polling stations and the count – although this varies per venue

·              Royal Mail postage costs – inwards return postal votes

 

4.5.       There are 412 Parish Councils within North Yorkshire, which comprise of 632 electoral areas (wards of parishes or parishes within a group) which could go to a contest. In 2022, 45 electoral areas were contested, for 239 seats (see appendix A schedule 6). The estimated additional cost of this situation being mirrored in 2027 is £70,000. This does not include the wards of Harrogate or Scarborough Town Council which all went to election in May 2025 and may well also go to a contested election in 2027.

 

UNCONTESTED POLLS

 

4.6.       Since vesting day there have been a number of parish casual vacancies arising where 10 electors have requested the vacancy be filled by election and then insufficient nominations are received for a contested election. In these cases, some costs associated with printing are still incurred as proof documents need to be produced in advance of the close of nominations. These costs could be recharged to the relevant parish but are not currently.

 

4.7.       Officer time is required to prepare and publish election notices and to receive, check and process candidate nominations (whether at scheduled elections or by-elections). North Yorkshire has 2900 parish level seats which will require considerable resource at the nominations stage.  Appendix A (page 5&6) sets out a proposed schedule of uncontested election fees for parish by-elections and scheduled parish elections.

 

 

COMBINED POLLS

 

4.8.       The cost of a parish election can also depend on how many elections are being held on the same day, for example if there is a North Yorkshire Council election, UK Parliamentary election, or Combined Mayoral election on the same day.  Some printing (combined poll cards) and postage costs, polling accommodation and staffing are among the items that could be shared. However, anything that relates solely to the parish such as ballot papers could be charged in full (and currently are for by-elections). Sometimes, it is not preferred to issue combined poll cards or postal vote packs due to deadlines and risk management.

 

4.9.       A list of the cost elements for an election, and the basis on which they can be shared with a combined poll, are set out in within the policy options document at schedule 1 in Appendix A.

 

4.10.    If a parish by-election is combined with another poll held on the same day, approximately 60% of by-election costs are directly attributable to the parish contested (print of ballot papers and postal votes, postage), with 40% of costs being shared between the polls occurring on the same day (venue hire and staffing for example).

 

 

5.0         CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

 

5.1.       A well-led and managed, financially sustainable and forward- thinking council

 

6.0         ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

 

6.1.       Option 1 in Appendix A: To continue recharging parishes for by-elections and introduce recharges at scheduled elections (May 2027 + 4 yearly) for both the costs solely attributable to the parish election (i.e. ballot papers and postal vote packs if dispatched separately) in addition to the shared element costs such as venue hire, staffing fees.

 

6.2.      Option 3 in Appendix A: To continue with parish recharge arrangements in place since April 2024, only recharging for the cost contested by-elections.

 

6.3.       Option 4 in appendix A: To not recharge at all for any parish elections

 

 

7.0         IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS

 

7.1.       Town and parish councils have the power to finance the cost of their elections from the local precept. Without a recharge policy in place, all NYC council taxpayers would bear the burden of the cost of parish elections through the NYC precept, regardless of whether they reside in one of the areas where there is a contested election. A recharge policy ensures the cost is met by the local residents of the relevant parish area through the parish precept.

 

7.2.       When considering the potential introduction of election recharges for town and parish councils, concerns were expressed about the potential impact on democracy and candidates potentially being discouraged from standing to avoid the need for a poll and therefore any recharge costs.  In addition to the statutory notices produced by the principal council, it is for the parish councils to promote the elections in their areas encouraging candidates to stand for election.  Electoral administrators across North Yorkshire have been unable to find any evidence demonstrating that parish by-elections decrease due to recharges. 

 

7.3.       For some areas within North Yorkshire, a recharge policy for scheduled elections will impact on parish budgets where a recharge is being applied for the first time, such as in the former district and borough areas of Harrogate and Ryedale.  Other former district areas of Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Scarborough and Selby have previously recharged parish councils in their area for scheduled elections, and Ryedale have partially charged but only for polling station hire.

 

7.4.       It is understood that budget setting activity for the next financial year takes place in December for most parish councils, and it is recommended that any policy for recharging for scheduled elections is communicated to parishes within North Yorkshire as soon as possible to allow planning for any precept increases.

 

7.5.       Communication with parishes would include an initial communication in Autumn 2025, followed up with the opportunity to meet and discuss the changes and charges, and if required, indicative charges provided before December 2025 (though this can be difficult to predict exactly due to the many variables and some external provider fees beyond our control).

 

8.0         FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

8.1.       Amending the recharge basis for parish council elections will produce a reduction in the Council spend but this figure is difficult to quantify accurately as it is entirely dependent on how many electoral areas are contested in 2027, and the number of casual vacancies between scheduled elections at parish level.

 

8.2.       If a similar number of parishes were to go to election in 2027 as in the last scheduled elections in May 2022 (see list in schedule 5 in appendix A), the additional costs of those elections (over and above the estimated cost of the scheduled North Yorkshire Council elections) is likely to be £150-200k, which could be recharged (option 2 in appendix A).

 

8.3.       If the full costs of combined elections in 2027 (including those divisible elements mentioned in 4.10 above) were to be shared equally between North Yorkshire Council and the parish, town or city councils with contested elections, then around £350k of costs could be recharged to those councils (option 1 in appendix A).  This estimate is based on 35% of North Yorkshire (by electorate) having a contested parish election on the same day as the North Yorkshire Council elections. The equates to a cost of roughly £2 per elector in the parish.

 

8.4       Each occurrence of an uncontested by-election costs NYC around £250.

 

8.5      Introducing a charge for uncontested scheduled elections (see section 4.7 above) could recover an estimated £35k (based on those areas that did not go to contest in 2022).

 

 

9.0         LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

9.1.       The relevant legal powers are referenced in the body of this report.

 

10.0      EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

 

10.1.    An Equalities Impact Assessment screening has been completed (Appendix B), and a full EIA is not required at this time.  Any future proposed changes will be subject to separate EIA screening.

 

11.0      CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

 

11.1.    There are no climate change implications arising from this report (see appendix C).

 

12.0      CONCLUSIONS

 

 

12.1.    Parishes being financially responsible for their elections ensures affected electors are contributing towards the cost of parish democracy via specific area parish precept, rather than all electors across North Yorkshire paying for parish elections in the entire North Yorkshire area.

 

12.2.    There is no evidence of recharging parishes having a detrimental impact on parish level democracy.

 

12.3.    Introducing parish recharges from the next scheduled elections due May 2027 onwards allows time for changes to be communicated and managed by parishes when it comes to any potential budgetary impact.

 

12.4.    The recommendation to rechange parish councils for uncontested by-elections can be implemented from 1 April 2026 to ensure the council can recover those costs for by-elections sooner than 2027.

 

 

13.0      REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

13.1.    To reduce the financial burden on North Yorkshire Council for parish election costs. Parishes becoming more financially responsible for their elections ensures affected electors are contributing towards the cost of parish democracy via specific area parish precept, rather than all electors across North Yorkshire paying for parish elections in the entire area.

 

 

14.0

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

 

 i.         That the Council continue to recharge parish councils for by-elections.

 

ii.        That the Council recharges parish councils at scheduled elections (May 2027 + 4 yearly) for the additional costs solely attributable to the parish election, as per option 2 in Appendix A to form the basis of those recharges.

 

iii.        That the Council introduces the proposed recharges for uncontested parish elections from April 2026, as set out in appendix A.

 

 

 

            APPENDICES:

 

            Appendix A – Options for proposed Election Recharges to Parishes

            Appendix B – Equality Impact Assessment Screening Form

Appendix C – Climate Impact Assessment Form



 

 

Barry Khan

Assistant Chief Executive – Legal and Democratic Services

County Hall

Northallerton

September 2025

 

Report Author – Kerry Russett

 

Note: Members are invited to contact the author or presenter in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.