Appendix A - Options for Election Recharges to Parishes
2025 Proposals
Contents
Schedule 1 - Cost Elements for a Parish Election
Schedule 2 - Election staff rates of pay
Schedule 3 – External Print and Postage Costs
Schedule 4 – Worked Example, Parish with electorate of 3,246, 1 polling station
Schedule 5 – All Contested Parish contests - most recent scheduled elections
Elections can be called at any time, when parish councillors are no longer in office due to resignations, death, or disqualification. Every parish election incurs costs such as the hire of polling stations, staffing, the printing of ballot papers and postal votes, and postage. By-elections also incur these types of cost, and the number of parish by-elections is unpredictable. Scheduled parish elections are held every 4 years. All parish, town and city councils will have all out elections in May 2027.
The Returning Officer for North Yorkshire Council (NYC) is responsible for organising and delivering elections for all parishes within North Yorkshire. Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 allows the Returning Officer to recover from local Town & Parish Councils administration fees and costs incurred.
The recharges to parishes are on a cost recovery basis only, and no income will be generated by NYC as profit.
Recharges will apply for all parish elections and by-elections, whether contested or uncontested.
The costs associated exclusively with a parish election and by-election will be recharged in full to the parish council.
Where a parish election is combined with elections to North Yorkshire Council, or any other poll, the cost of common facilities and services will be shared equally by the number of polls combined on the same day (for example the costs of hiring a polling station and employing polling staff will be split 50:50 between the parish or town council with the election and North Yorkshire Council). If there are more than 2 polls combined on the same day those divisible elements will be shared between the number of polls being held. See schedule 1 below.
Recharges will apply for all parish elections and by-elections, whether contested or uncontested.
The costs associated exclusively with a parish election and by-election will be recharged in full to the parish council.
Where combined with the election of North Yorkshire Council councillors, only the additional costs of holding the parish elections will be recharged (for example the core cost of polling stations and polling staff will not be recharged as that cost would be incurred for the North Yorkshire Council elections anyway, only the staffing ‘uplift’ fees for combined poll will be recharged (see schedule 2).
Recharges will only apply for unscheduled by-elections (as now).
At scheduled elections (usually 4 yearly), no recharges will be made.
North Yorkshire Council bear the cost of all parish elections, making no recharges to parishes to recover costs.
Parishes election costs depend on many variables, such as:
· parish electorate;
· number of postal voters;
· geographical area affecting number of polling stations and staffing required; and
· whether poll cards are issued or not.
Costs incurred at an election relate to:
|
Cost Element |
|
|
Hire of venues |
Polling & count |
|
Delivery of equipment to venues |
Polling booths and or other equipment, if required |
|
Printing |
Poll cards, postal votes, ballot papers, election notices |
|
Postage |
Poll cards and postal votes, general administration |
|
Staffing (& mileage) |
At the polling station, the opening of postal votes, the count of votes, and for general administration |
|
Returning Officer Fee |
|
Poll card issue
The issue of poll cards is optional for the parish but strongly recommended.
Upon receipt of the necessary requests for a parish by-election, NYC will calculate the cost of production and postage of poll cards and inform the parish in advance to allow a decision to be made by the parish on whether to issue them or not. Whilst not issuing poll cards can reduce the cost of a by-election, the Returning Officer recommends issuing poll cards for all contested elections to increase awareness and turnout for improved democracy. For scheduled elections, poll cards will be combined with the North Yorkshire Council elections on one card.
Combined Polls
Usually, where a local election is combined with a national poll (like a General Election), the costs of printing and postage, polling accommodation and staffing are among the items that can be shared. However, anything that relates solely to the local element such as ballot papers are charged in full. The same principal can apply where a parish election is combined with local government elections.
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 schedule 1.
Staff working at the election are paid using rates of pay agreed by NYC. A schedule of staffing fees is provided in schedule 2. Note that the rates of pay are subject to annual uplift in line with the national election fees schedule.
The costs incurred also vary depending on the prices charged by Royal Mail and service providers for a particular election. The anticipated costs incurred for printing and postage (outwards) can be found in schedule 3.
An indicative example of the costs involved in a parish election under different recharging schemes can be found in schedule 4.
A list of parishes that went to a contested election in 2022 and 2024 can be found in schedule 5.
Uncontested Fees
When a casual vacancy occurs, a Notice of Vacancy is published by the parish or town clerk giving electors 14 working days notice to request in writing that the vacancy be filled by election. If 10 such requests are received by North Yorkshire Council’s Monitoring Officer with the 14 working day period, an election to fill the vacancy must be held.
Usually when this happens, sufficient candidates come forward to stand at the election for it to be contested. Occasionally however, there are insufficient candidates for a contested poll. The same also applies at scheduled elections. For reference, in 2022, out of 608 potential parish contests (across the 412 parish, town and city councils in North Yorkshire), only 45 were contested.
Where the poll is uncontested, North Yorkshire Council still incurs costs. To prepare for an election, Electoral Services need to engage with a print supplier to prepare the printed materials needed should the poll be contested. This incurs a cost. Officer time is also required to produce the legal notices for the poll and to run candidate nominations.
For this reason, it is proposed that where a parish by-election is uncontested, the printer’s setup costs could be recharged (actual cost incurred) to the relevant parish council and for all scheduled parish elections, an administration fee for an uncontested election charged at the following rates:
|
Number of Vacancies |
Electorate in affected electoral area |
Fee |
|
Less than or equal to 7 |
Less than or equal to 1,000 |
£50 |
|
Less than or equal to 7 |
More than 1,000 |
£75 |
|
8 or 9 |
All |
£100 |
|
10 or more |
All |
£125 |
As explained in the above section, costs vary greatly between parishes due to many variables.
Indicative calculations can be provided upon request for each parish (or ward of a parish if warded), though it must be noted that these are estimates only.
By way of example, parish by elections can cost anywhere between £1,500 and £10,000 depending upon the size of the electorate and geographical area.
Currently parishes should expect to receive an invoice from NYC for the cost of a by-election within 2 months of the date of the poll. This allows the costs incurred from external organisations (polling station hire, print and postage) to be received, paid and reconciled by NYC before calculating the total cost of a parish by-election.
Parishes receive a precept via the Local Authority Council Tax to run the parish and this includes services such as allotments, lighting, cemeteries etc. Parishes need to factor the contingency cost of by-elections into their budget setting activity, and ensure they have sufficient funds to cover elections.
Invoices for by-election recharges must be paid in full, within 30 days.
Invoices issued by NYC can be paid by following the information provided on the back of the invoice, which explains how to pay the invoice by any of the following methods:
· via the council website using a debit or credit card
· by telephone – automated payment line
· by bank transfer
· at the bank
· by post (cheque)
If any parish is struggling to pay their election recharges, they should contact electoral services on the details below.
(Combination share)
The following table lists the cost elements of an election, and the basis on which they could be shared if combined with another poll on the same day (as per Options 1 & 2):
|
Cost recharged to parish at by-election |
If combined with another poll: |
|
|
Hire of polling stations (varies by venue) |
actual cost
|
shared equally by the number of polls (option 1) no cost to parish council (option 2)
|
|
Production of Poll cards (optional for the parish) |
Refer to schedule 3 |
shared equally by the number of polls (if able to issue combined poll cards) (option 1) no cost to parish council (if able to issue combined poll cards) (option 2) |
|
Postage of Poll Cards (optional for the parish) |
Refer to schedule 3 |
shared equally by the number of polls (if able to issue combined poll cards) (option 1) no cost to parish council (if able to issue combined poll cards) (option 2) |
|
Production of ballot papers (and other election stationery) |
Refer to schedule 3 |
Actual cost of parish element (options 1 & 2)
|
|
Production/print of postal votes |
Refer to schedule 3 |
shared equally by the number of polls (if able to issue combined packs - not always possible) (option 1) If not possible to combine - full cost recharged. (options 1 & 2) If possible to combine, no cost to parish council (option 2) |
|
Outward postage of postal votes |
Refer to schedule 3 |
shared equally by the number of polls (if able to issue combined packs - not always possible) (option 1) If not possible to combine - full cost recharged. (options 1 & 2) If possible to combine, no cost to parish council (option 2) |
|
Inward postage votes |
In line with Royal Mail |
shared equally by the number of polls (if able to issue combined packs - not always possible) (option 1) If not possible to combine - full cost recharged. (options 1 & 2) If possible to combine, no cost to parish council (option 2) |
|
Hire of count venue |
Actual (varies per venue) |
electorate to station proportion (option 1) no cost to parish council (option 2)
|
|
Staffing (polling staff &, count staff etc) |
Refer to schedule 2 |
Polling - shared equally by the number of polls (Option 1) Polling – only additional cost recharged to parish (option 2) Count – 100% to parish for specific staff time counting parish ballot papers (Options 1 & 2)
|
|
Returning Officer Fees |
Refer to schedule 2 |
Unable to share if combined (Options 1 & 2) |
|
Mileage incurred by staff |
45p per mile |
shared equally by the number of polls (option 1) no cost to parish council (option 2)
|
North Yorkshire Council agreed schedule of fees (2025/26)
|
Job / Role |
Rate of Pay |
|
Returning Officer |
8p per elector, or £56 (whichever is the greater) |
|
Presiding Officer Uplift for combination poll |
£278.80 / day £55.76 / day |
|
Poll Clerk Uplift for combination poll |
£201.60 / day £40.32 / day |
|
Polling Station Inspector (if required) |
£303 / day |
|
Attendance at training (if required) |
£18.05 / hour |
|
Coordinator Role: · Poll Card Checks / Issue · Postal Vote Issue / opening |
£21.86 / hour – day £32.80 / hour – eve |
|
Supervisor Role · Poll Card Checks / Issue · Postal Vote Issue / Opening |
£18.05 / hour – day £27.07 / hour – eve |
|
Assistant Role Postal Vote issue / opening |
£14.05 / hour – day £21.08 / hour – eve |
|
Senior Count Manager / Supervisor |
£29.85 / hour – day £42.07 / hour – eve |
|
Count Supervisor |
£20.09 / hour – day £30.14 / hour - eve |
|
Count Assistant |
£14.05 / hour – day £21.08 / hour – eve |
|
Clerical (supervisory level) |
£15.50 / hour - day £23.25 / hour – eve |
|
Clerical (admin level) |
£14.04 / hour – day £21.08 / hour - eve |
|
Staff mileage |
45p / mile |
The following table details our contracted rates for the production, printing and postage for election material by NYCs specialist contracted provider:
|
Element |
Cost |
|
Job setup costs |
Under £1k |
|
Poll card printing |
contracted rate |
|
Poll card postage |
£0.60 per poll card |
|
Postal vote printing |
contracted rate |
|
Postal vote postage – outward |
£1.25 per postal vote envelope |
|
Postal vote postage – return |
£1.67 per envelope (Royal Mail costs) |
|
Ballot papers – ordinary |
contracted rate |
|
Ballot papers – tendered |
contracted rate |
|
Chargeable Service or Item |
Cost recharged to parish at by-election (not combined) |
Cost to parish at scheduled election if amount shared equally between NYC and Parish – Option 1 |
Cost to parish at scheduled election if only additional costs of parish election recharged – Option 2 (Recommended) |
|
Hire of polling stations (varies by venue) |
£346.50
|
£173.25 |
£0 |
|
Production of Poll cards |
£431.14 |
£215.57 |
£0 |
|
Production of Postal votes |
£758.75 |
£758.75 |
£758.75 |
|
Postage of Poll Cards (optional for the parish at by-elections) |
£1,897.76 |
£948.88 |
£0 |
|
Postage of Postal Votes (outward) |
£833.25 |
£833.25 |
£833.25 |
|
Production of ballot papers (and other election stationery) |
£361.60 |
£361.60 |
£361.60 |
|
Inward postage (postal votes) |
£811.62 |
£811.62 |
£811.62 |
|
Hire of count venue |
Usually count at one of polling stations (no extra cost) |
£100 |
£0 |
|
Staffing (polling staff &, count staff etc) |
£750 |
£375 |
£236.40 |
|
Returning Officer Fees |
£259.68 |
£259.68 |
£259.68 |
|
TOTAL |
£6,450.30 |
£4,837.60 |
£3,261.30 |
|
Parish Contested Elections May 2022 |
|||
|
Contest Name |
Seats |
Electorate |
|
|
Appleton Wiske |
7 |
389 |
|
|
Arkengarthdale |
5 |
189 |
|
|
Boroughbridge, Boroghbridge Ward |
10 |
3151 |
|
|
Byland-with-Wass |
3 |
121 |
|
|
Coniston Cold |
5 |
168 |
|
|
Cotcliffe & Crosby |
1 |
30 |
|
|
Cridling Stubbs |
5 |
141 |
|
|
Croft-on-Tees |
5 |
361 |
|
|
Cropton |
5 |
201 |
|
|
Danby Wiske with Lazenby |
5 |
264 |
|
|
Darley & Menwith |
7 |
901 |
|
|
Dishforth |
5 |
768 |
|
|
Easingwold |
11 |
4674 |
|
|
Filey, Filey Ward |
12 |
5583 |
|
|
Great Smeaton |
3 |
166 |
|
|
Hornby |
3 |
220 |
|
|
Kirkby Malzeard |
5 |
710 |
|
|
Knaresborough, Aspin & Calcutt Ward |
3 |
2987 |
|
|
Knaresborough, Castle Ward |
3 |
3405 |
|
|
Knaresborough, Eastfield Ward |
3 |
2963 |
|
|
Knaresborough, Scriven Park Ward |
3 |
3576 |
|
|
Linton |
5 |
107 |
|
|
Long Preston |
7 |
626 |
|
|
Luttons |
9 |
325 |
|
|
Malton |
12 |
4972 |
|
|
Manfield |
4 |
225 |
|
|
Newby |
5 |
183 |
|
|
Newsham |
5 |
294 |
|
|
Nunnington |
5 |
192 |
|
|
Osmotherley |
5 |
483 |
|
|
Ripon, Moorside Ward |
3 |
3235 |
|
|
Ripon, Spa Ward |
3 |
3248 |
|
|
Ripon, Ure Bank Ward |
3 |
3237 |
|
|
Scagglethorpe |
7 |
181 |
|
|
Scriven |
5 |
205 |
|
|
Selby, North Ward |
5 |
4729 |
|
|
Selby, South Ward |
5 |
4578 |
|
|
Skipton, East Ward |
4 |
3154 |
|
|
Skipton, North Ward |
4 |
3210 |
|
|
Skipton, South Ward |
4 |
2700 |
|
|
Thorganby |
9 |
305 |
|
|
Thornton-Le-Breans |
4 |
201 |
|
|
Tockwith, Tockwith Ward |
7 |
1583 |
|
|
Topcliffe |
5 |
748 |
|
|
Well |
5 |
209 |
|
|
Town Council Contested Elections May 2025 |
|||
|
Harrogate Town Council - Bilton Grange Ward |
1 |
3046 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Bilton Woodfield Ward |
1 |
3093 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Central Ward |
1 |
3051 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Coppice Valley Ward |
1 |
3099 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Duchy Ward |
1 |
2495 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Fairfax Ward |
1 |
3165 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Harlow Ward |
1 |
3139 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - High Harrogate Ward |
1 |
3333 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Hookstone Ward |
1 |
2826 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Kingsley Ward |
1 |
3422 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - New Park Ward |
1 |
2846 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Oatlands Ward |
1 |
3306 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Old Bilton Ward |
1 |
2856 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Pannal Ward |
1 |
1072 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Saltergate Ward |
1 |
1614 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - St Georges Ward |
1 |
3455 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Starbeck Ward |
1 |
2793 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Stray Ward |
1 |
3329 |
|
|
Harrogate Town Council - Valley Gardens Ward |
1 |
3136 |
|
|
Scarborough Town Council - Castle Ward |
3 |
5528 |
|
|
Scarborough Town Council - Falsgrave & Stepney Ward |
3 |
6243 |
|
|
Scarborough Town Council - Northstead Ward |
3 |
5448 |
|
|
Scarborough Town Council - Weaponness & Ramshill Ward |
3 |
6021 |
|
|
Scarborough Town Council - Woodlands Ward |
3 |
5220 |
|