Survey for local (parish and town) councils 1. - About the council Question Title * 1. Council name: Question Title * 2. County Association area: Avon Bedfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Cheshire Cleveland Cornwall Cumbira Derbyshire Devon Dorset Durham East Riding and North Lincolnshire East Sussex Essex Gloucestershire Hampshire Herefordshire Hertforshire Isle of Wight Kent Lancashire Leicestershire and Rutland Lincolnshire Merseyside Norfolk Northamptonshire Northumberland Nottinghamshire One Voice Wales Oxfordshire Shropshire Somerset Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey Warwickshire and West Midlands West Sussex Wiltshire Worcestershire Yorkshire Question Title * 3. What is the councils precept for 2019/20? Question Title * 4. How many electors are there in the civil parish? 0-250 251-500 501-1,000 1,001-2,500 2,501-5,000 5,001-7,500 7,501-10,000 10,001-20,000 20,001-50,000 50,001-70,000 70,001+ Question Title * 5. How many staff does the council employ? Question Title * 6. What is the staff Full Time Equivalent? (Total staff hours divided by 37) Question Title * 7. Please indicate the average number of hours per week that the council collectively spends on committee business: (attending events, preparing for meetings, attending committee meetings etc.) Less than one hour 1-5 hours 5-10 hours 11-15 hours 16-20 hours 21-25 hours 26-30 hours 31-35 hours 36-40 hours 41-50 hours 51-55 hours 56-60 hours 61-65 hours 66-70 hours 71+ hours Question Title * 8. How many seats does the council have? Question Title * 9. May 2019 elections:How many candidates for election were there? Question Title * 10. How many seats were filled by uncontested elections i.e. where there were fewer candidates than seats available? Question Title * 11. How many seats were filled by co-option after the election? Question Title * 12. If you had to co-opt, what was the process that you used? (Select all that apply) Through advertisement Through a selection process Through looking for a specific skill set Through increasing the diversity of the council Through targeting people directly Other (please specify) Question Title * 13. On the date that you are completing this survey; do you have any vacant seats? Yes No Question Title * 14. The practicalities:What was the direct cost of the election? (In GBP) Question Title * 15. If there was no cost, please explain why? Question Title * 16. Was the council's election held on the same day as the principal authorities? Yes No Don't know Question Title * 17. What is the percentage your budget is taken up by the cost of the election? 0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% 91-100% Question Title * 18. How much time do you estimate that the clerk and/or other staff spent on the elections? E.g. promoting the election, holding events, etc. None 1-3 hours 3-5 hours 5-7 hours 7-10 hours 10-12 hours 12-15 hours 15-17 hours 17-20 hours 20-23 hours 23-25 hours 25-27 hours 27-30 hours 30 hours+ Question Title * 19. Did your council, experience any particular challenges or hurdles? (For example issues with: staff time, putting on election events or difficulty getting councillors to stand). Question Title * 20. SupportDoes the principal authority subsidise the cost of your local council election? Yes No Question Title * 21. If yes, does the principal authority pay for all of the election or only in part? All In part Question Title * 22. Does the principal authority offer any other election support? (Select all that apply) Training Briefing documents Joint briefing events Officer support Other (please specify) Question Title * 23. Was information about the elections easily available on the principal authority website? Yes No Do not know Did not look Question Title * 24. Did you find the Electoral Commission nomination process and election pack/information clear, helpful, and written in plain English? Yes No Question Title * 25. If not, what do you think needs to be changed? (Select all that apply) Design of forms Accessibility of the forms Design of the posters Accessibility of posters and other electoral materials Design of the guides Accessibility of the guidees Accessibility of the timetables Other (please specify) Question Title * 26. Are you aware of NALC's 'Make a Change' Campaign? Yes No Question Title * 27. If yes, did you use any resources? Yes No Question Title * 28. If yes, which ones: (Select all that apply) Editable posters Editable elections press release Election promotional video Councillor YouTube videos All about local councils (guide) The Good Councillor guide Question Title * 29. Are there any resources that haven't been provided that you would have found helpful? Question Title * 30. Did the county association run an election campaign? Yes No Don't know Question Title * 31. If yes, did the council use any county association materials? Yes No Don't know Question Title * 32. If not, then why? What did the council use? Question Title * 33. What more can be done to encourage candidacy at local council elections? Question Title * 34. Representation:Do you feel that the council is more representative of its community after the 2019 elections? Yes No Question Title * 35. If yes, is there something that you or your council did to specifically encourage this? Question Title * 36. If no (to question 33) how will the council look to engage more diverse representation amongst its members at the next ordinary elections or as casual vacancies arise in the meantime? Question Title * 37. How many of those elected in May were already councillors prior to the election? None Up to 1/4 Up to 1/2 Up to 3/4 All of them Question Title * 38. Compared to the last main election (e.g. 2015) are there now: more contested seats more uncontested seats more co-opted seats Other (please specify) Question Title * 39. The General Power of Competence:Eligibility for the general power of competence requires the council to meet two tests, which are, a qualified clerk (Cilca) and 2/3 of elected councillors: Did the council have the General Power of Competence before May 2019 elections? Yes No Question Title * 40. If yes, did the council lose its General Power of Competence following the election? Yes No Question Title * 41. If you did lose the General Power of Competence, are you looking to become eligible now? Yes No Question Title * 42. If you are not, why not? Question Title * 43. Reforming local elections:Do you think there should be a pilot for online voting in local elections? Yes No Question Title * 44. Please tell us here if there any specific changes to electoral or nominations processes you would like to see: (Select all that apply) Cost of elections Guidance and support from Principal Authorities Simplified forms Expense forms process Nomination forms Nomination process Online process Clearer understanding of the election process Other (please specify) Done