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Solace Elections Conference 2019

Thursday 24 January

30 Finsbury Square

London EC2P 2YU

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ballot papers contracted to be printed and dispatched at the next nationwide election

Our team provides a premium service that manages the complexities of the entire print process. Our offering complies with all electoral legislation, is approved by Royal Mail, and is delivered to suit individual requirements.

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Our technology supports local authorities of all sizes, with a dedicated team on hand 24/7 to offer a consultative, first-class service for streamlined elections delivery.

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As a leading supplier of electoral management software, services and support, we’re serious about elections – that’s why we’ve been in this business for over 25 years.

We deliver innovative technology that provides the strength, stability and support to truly take the pressure off customers when they need it most.

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3,600,000

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idox electionsan idox solution

of UK’s area covered by our EMS solutionWith over 20 million electors registered, our powerful EMS is already helping hundreds of

electoral administrators deliver savings through smarter, more efficient working.

ballot papers contracted to be printed and dispatched at the next nationwide election

Our team provides a premium service that manages the complexities of the entire print process. Our offering complies with all electoral legislation, is approved by Royal Mail, and is delivered to suit individual requirements.

households emailed using our innovative eCanvass – equiv. to 313 trees worth of HEFs

Our technology supports local authorities of all sizes, with a dedicated team on hand 24/7 to offer a consultative, first-class service for streamlined elections delivery.

votes electronically counted in Scotland in May 2017With over 100 eCounts now

conducted, our service scans ballots in hours and provides calculations in minutes, reducing the count time significantly with full transparency and accuracy from start to finish.

of HEFs led to an electronic response in 2018, representing 227,000 hours’ worth of work saved

Efficient and accurate, our technology removes the manual processes involved in day-to-day electoral tasks, freeing time and enabling teams to focus on the elections day itself.

polling station staff trained since 2012 We’ve equipped thousands of local

authorities with high-quality, convenient training in a way that engages staff and fits around individual schedules.

Want to find out more? Come along to our stand at the Solace Elections Conference, or contact the Idox Elections team using the details below.

As a leading supplier of electoral management software, services and support, we’re serious about elections – that’s why we’ve been in this business for over 25 years.

We deliver innovative technology that provides the strength, stability and support to truly take the pressure off customers when they need it most.

Having developed solid solutions that busy teams can adapt to suit their own requirements, our expert team continues to advance our systems so they remain robust and relevant in an ever-changing electoral world.

We have the scope, scale and services to ensure your elections are always in safe hands…

Your elections in safe hands

52%

3,600,000

1,024,441

1.9 million  

36.2%  

75,000+

idox electionsan idox solution

https://elections.idoxgroup.com

elections.sales@idoxgroup.com

@IdoxElections

idox electionsan idox solution

Welcome from Solace

Chief Executives and Returning Officers are personally responsible

for the smooth running and delivery of elections putting their own

individual reputations on the line. It is crucial that they keep up-

to-date with legislative changes and share best practice to deliver

a secure, accurate and efficient democratic process.

The Solace Annual Election Conference will ensure you keep

your skills and knowledge of this challenging technical area up

to the pace of change. The electoral community has experienced

growing pressures in the last few years. The scale of challenges

posed by the increasing number and range of elections and

reform of the registration system are set to continue. External

scrutiny of the system is intensifying.

The Conference will bring you up-to-date with recent legislative

changes and will feature case studies which focus on the key

issues faced by all Returning Officers, setting out the things you

need to know to keep your election service safe from challenge.

Programme

09.30Arrivals and Registration for the early session Room 714

09.45 - 10.45The Role and Responsibilities of the Returning Officer Session for NEW Returning Officers (and those who would like a refresh!) Speaker: Mark Heath, Returning Officer, Southampton

10.30 Arrivals, Registration and Refreshments for main conference

11.00Chair’s Welcome Louise Round Chief Executive, Tandridge District Council & Solace Policy Lead

11.10Welcome from Grant Thornton Guy Clifton Head of Local Government Advisory, Grant Thornton

11.15

Update: 2019 Voter identification

Chair: Susie Kemp, Chief Executive, Swindon Borough Council

Speakers: Mark Hughes, Head of Elections Projects, Elections Division, Cabinet Office; Susie Kemp, Chief Executive, Swindon Borough Council; Gordon Amos, Electoral Services Manager, Watford Borough Council; Charlotte Griffiths, Electoral & IS Manager, Woking Borough Council

12.00

Working with the Media at Election Time

Council officers sometimes appear to see the media as at best a nuisance and at worst as the enemy, says Roger Smith, Press Association Elections Editor. In this session, he will explore the need for better cooperation, particularly when it comes to the election count and the declaration of results. The session will also provide an insight into the fast-changing media environment and offer some constructive tips on handling the media.

Speaker: Roger Smith, Elections Editor, Press Association

12.30Election Law – update on key issues Speaker: Tim Straker QC, 4-5 Grays Inn Square

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13.00LUNCH Room 714

13.50Keynote session: Ministerial address

Speaker: Chloe Smith MP, Minister for the Constitution

14.20

Case studies: Interactive Workshops Plus Analyses and Discussion

Each case study draws on topical issues from recent elections to enable us to learn from real-life examples what has worked well and sometimes not so well - sometimes with far-reaching consequences. By working through these case studies, delegates can use the examples to increase their knowledge and skills as returning officers.

15.20

Electoral Modernisation: Drivers for change and harnessing successful outcomes

This session will look at the factors that drive electoral modernisation and technology adoption and how the application of IT industry best practice can delivery successful implementations

Speakers:

Tracy Porch-Bradley, Account Director, CGI Sonya Anderson, Senior Election Partner, Smartmatic

15.50

Questions with the Panel

Our panel of experts will invite you the opportunity to bring to the table the issues you are struggling with and the expert panel at the end of the day will be able to answer your questions about how to tackle them.

Chair: Louise Round

Panel:

Tim Straker QC Paul Docker, Head of Electoral Administration, Cabinet Office Mark Hynes, Director of Governance and Law, Waltham Forest Council Sonya Anderson, Smartmatic Tracy Porch-Bradley, CGI

16.30 Chair’s Summary and close

Speakers

Mark Heath

Returning Officer, Southampton City Council

Mark Heath was the Chief Operating Officer and

prior to that the Director of Corporate Services at

Southampton City Council. He is a Solicitor and has

worked in local government his entire career (out

of choice). He joined Southampton City Council in

1990 from Hampshire County Council. He was the

Monitoring Officer and a member of the Council’s

Management Team. He took early flexible retirement

from the Council at the end of 2016. Mark

however remains as Local Returning Officer at

Southampton, a post he has held since 1994. He

was the South East Regional Returning Officer

for the 2009 and 2014 European Parliamentary

Elections, the Regional Counting Officer for the

South East Region for the AV Referendum in 2011

and the European Referendum in 2016, and the

Police Area Returning Officer for Hampshire for the

Police and Crime Commissioner elections in 2012

and 2016. He serves on several groups convened

by Government and the Electoral Commission on

electoral law, policy and practice.

Louise Round

Chief Executive, Tandridge District Council

Louise is a solicitor and has been Chief Executive of

Tandridge District Council in Surrey for 6 years, prior

to which she spent 11 years as Corporate Director

of Resources at the London Borough of Islington

where she was also monitoring officer. She has

been responsible for running elections for 20 years,

acting as returning or deputy returning officer for

the last 16. Currently she is Vice Chair of the District

Council’s Network Chief Executive’s group and

Solace spokesperson on elections and democracy.

She has also recently been appointed vice chair of

Trustees of Surrey Youth Focus, having just stepped

down as chair of governors at a girls’ secondary

school in Wimbledon.

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Chloe Smith MP

Minister for the Constitution

Chloe Smith MP was appointed as Minister for the

Constitution at the Cabinet Office on 9 January

2018.

She was elected as the Conservative MP for Norwich

North in 2009 and was appointed Economic

Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011 and from

September 2012 to October 2013 she served as

Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office. In

2017, Chloe was appointed Parliamentary Under

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Before entering Parliament, Chloe worked for

international consultancy firm Deloitte, advising

private businesses, government departments and

public bodies.

Susie Kemp

Chief Executive, Swindon Borough Council

Susie Kemp is the Chief Executive for Swindon

Borough Council. Susie is overseeing a strong

transformation agenda for the Council, including

the Swindon Programme, with a digitalisation and

transformation focus, and also continued growth

through exciting new developments in both the

Town Centre and new housing throughout the

Borough. Having successfully negotiated a Joint

Venture with Barratts David Wilson plc, Susie now

sits on the JV Board which will see some 2,800

houses being built on council owned land at

Wichelstowe in South Swindon.

Holding previous senior posts at Surrey County

Council and LB Hillingdon, Susie has been involved

in Local Government for the past 22 years, including

10 as an elected member. She has also run her own

successful Recruitment and Public Relations business.

Gordon Amos, Electoral Services Manager,

Watford Borough Council

Gordon has over 30 years’ Local Government

experience working in electoral services, beginning in

Pembrokeshire and subsequent authorities within the

North West and West Midland Regions to current

position as Electoral Services Manager and Deputy

Returning Officer at Watford Borough Council.

He has been involved in a wide range of different

elections over the years including Community/Parish,

Principal Area, Mayoral, BID and PCC at local level

plus national Parliamentary and European elections

as well as both local and national referenda. Gordon

also worked with the Cabinet Office for three years

as the Hertfordshire County Lead at the introduction

of IER.

The 2018 elections presented a new challenge for

Gordon, with the conduct of the Voter ID pilot in

Watford, which Gordon led on as part of the Cabinet

Office trial, and will again be leading this year.

Under Gordon’s management, the first pilot in May

2018 was a huge success for Watford.

Charlotte Griffiths, Electoral & IS Manager,

Woking Borough Council

Charlotte has been the Electoral Services Manager

at Woking Borough Council since 2006 having

moved from Darlington Borough Council in 2002.

With elections by thirds, Charlotte has had plenty

of opportunities for trying new ideas at election

time, as well as keeping busy with by-elections,

community governance reviews and neighbourhood

plan referendums.

Trialling photographic only ID in May 2018 was an

exciting challenge, particularly planning the many

‘what if…’ scenarios as well as providing electors

with new photographic ‘local elector cards’, and she

hopes that this year’s pilots will be just as successful.

When not in the office, Charlotte enjoys running,

playing the piano and keeping busy with her three

sons.

Speakers

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Mark Hughes

Head of Elections Projects, Cabinet Office

Mark leads the Cabinet Office’s Electoral Integrity

Project delivering the Government’s commitment to

act on Sir Eric Pickles’ recommendations in his report

on electoral fraud. A current priority is supporting

successful local authority voter ID pilots at the May

2018 elections. The Government in its manifesto

committed to legislate to ensure that a form of

identification must be presented before voting.

The Government will also reform postal voting and

improve other aspects of the elections process to

ensure that our elections are the most secure in the

world... and tackle every aspect of electoral fraud.

Roger Smith

Elections Editor, Press Association

Roger oversees the Press Association’s elections data

coverage, serving a huge swathe of the UK media

as well as customers abroad. He took up the role in

2013 after working on elections for PA on a casual

basis from 2010.

Previously Roger managed editorial product

development at Teletext for seven years, following

a stint as a Duty Editor. Throughout the 1990s he

worked at Westminster as Parliamentary Sub-editor

for the Press Association.

Roger started his career in journalism in 1981 on

The Daily News in Durban, South Africa, where

he was Political Reporter. He went on to become

News Editor at Business Day in Johannesburg before

moving to London in 1989.

He is a graduate of the University of Natal, now

the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and is Chair of

the UKZN UK Trust, a small, independent charity

providing support for needy students at the

University.

Speakers

Tim Straker QC

4-5 Grays Inn Square

Timothy Straker QC has a wide ranging public law

practice. He has made many appearances in courts

at the highest level in England and Wales and

overseas. Timothy has acted in multiple election

petitions in England, Wales and Trinidad and Tobago,

which operates under a similar regime. He has

advised on elections and related matters in multiple

jurisdictions including Scotland, Guyana and Asian

jurisdictions. He recently led in the Supreme Court

when that court (exceptionally) considered the

boundary between party and personal expenses.

In short Timothy Straker QC has appeared in the

vast majority of the most important election cases

of the last twenty five years starting with successful

appearances for the returning officer in the ‘Literal

Democrat’ case, which directly led to the creation

of the Electoral Commission for which he has

acted. Principally he has acted for returning officers

throughout the country and been closely involved in

elections since 1995. He has acted for the Greater

London Authority and Transport for London ever

since those bodies were created. He sits as an

election commissioner.

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He has acted for (and against) local authorities on

issues ranging from abattoirs to zoos, appeared in

inquiries in Scotland and undertaken, drawing on his

English experience, work relating to environmental

assessment in Greece and the Caribbean. His

local authority and public law work includes

planning (multiple inquiries and judicial reviews,

e.g. The Emirates, Anfield, retail, polytunnels and

amalgamations and basements), infrastructure (e.g.

Mersey Gateway, Felixstowe and Harwich) and

procurement (often confidential).

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Mark Hynes, Director of Governance and Law,

London Borough of Waltham Forest

Mark is the Director of Governance and Law at the

London Borough of Waltham Forest. A solicitor since

1988, Mark worked for 4 years in the private sector

as a commercial lawyer with Eversheds before joining

local government where he has worked at every

local authority tier at Borough, County and Unitary

level., including 11 years as the Director of Corporate

Affairs at London Borough of Lambeth, and 4 years

as the City Solicitor at Peterborough.

Mark is a Director of Solace and Solicitor to the

Board. He is a past President of Lawyers in Local

Government, and has also established a consultancy

firm PRNH Ltd

Paul Docker, Head of Electoral

Administration, Cabinet Office

Paul Docker has worked within the legislative,

courts and policy areas of central Government for

over 20 years. He has worked directly on electronic

innovations for issue of court proceedings and

legislative information portals before moving to the

Electoral Policy Division in August 2003. Paul led the

work on the June 2004 all-postal pilots before taking

on the overall Electoral Modernisation Programme in

April 2005.

Since then Paul has held a number of roles that have

focused on the strategic, policy and legislative areas

of development and is currently Head of Electoral

Administration in the Elections & Democracy Division

which is now part of the Constitution Group within

the Cabinet Office.

Speakers

Sonya Anderson

Senior Election Partner, Smartmatic

Sonya has over 18 years’ experience working

with and supporting electoral modernisation

and technology projects. Sonya was the Account

Manager for the 2004 and 2012 London Mayoral

and Assembly elections and the 2007 Scottish

Parliamentary and Local Government election. All

of these projects were large centralised electronic

counting projects that included the provision of

hardware, software and services. In addition, Sonya

has worked with the Office of the Deputy Prime

Minister, Ministry of Justice and other stakeholders

to support a number of the electoral modernisation

pilot projects.

Sonya has a deep understanding of how to

develop solutions that address the needs of

Returning Officers and election officials within the

UK in addition to advising on many international

electoral modernisation projects. Sonya is a regular

contributor at international election events and often

delivers training as part of technology projects and

election courses.

Tracy Porch-Bradley

Account Director, CGI

Tracy is an experienced Account Director for

CGI’s Health and Local Services business with a

wealth of experience across local government.

Having previously been accountable for business

development of CGI’s UK shared service Application

Delivery Centres (ADC) she has over 18 years’

experience in the IT Industry ranging from leading

and implementing ITIL process teams for CGI’s

Ministry of Justice application management services

and the Ministry of Defence; to Managing the

Quality and Compliance Audit programme for

CGI’s ADCs. Prior to joining CGI, Tracy led the de-

regulation of the Electricity Supply Market UAT and

Trialling Programme for SWALEC.

As an integral member of the Scottish Local

Government e-Counting 2017 project team, Tracy

understands the needs of Local Authority election

users having performed all election user roles in

the execution of various testing phases. She led the

Application Delivery Centre team in the design and

delivery of the e-Counting Local Authority portal for

Scottish Local Authority staff. Along with 45 of her

team who took on the exciting challenge of Count

Centre Manager and was delighted to support

Orkney Council RO (CEO) and their Elections Team in

their ‘first to declare’ successful count.

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Don’t miss...

SOLACE ANNUAL CHARITY DINNER

Delegates

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Simon Baker Chief Executive Staffordshire Moorlands DC and High Peak BC

Daniel Bates Director of Corporate Services Lancaster City Council and Returning Officer

Steve Blatch Corporate Director North Norfolk District Council and Head of Paid Service

Huw Bowen Chief Executive Chesterfield Borough Council

Helen Briggs Chief Executive Rutland County Council

Stuart Brown Chief Executive Mendip District Council

Paul Burkinshaw Assistant Director Corporate Services Basildon Council

Laura Church Interim Chief Executive Luton Council

Michael Coyle Business Development Manager Modern Democracy

Ruairi Crossan Marketing Coordinator Modern Democracy

Scott Crudgington Chief Executive Stevenage Borough Council

Rebecca Emmett Executive Director of Borough Services Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

Dawn French Chief Executive Uttlesford District Council

Tony Gillet Executive Director - Resources Daventry District Council

Henry Gordon Lennox Strategic Lead Governance and East Devon District Council Licensing & Monitoring Officer

Tom Groves Senior Clerk 4-5 Grays Inn

Dave Heywood Chief Executive South Staffordshire Council

Trevor Holden Managing Director Broadland & South Norfolk Councils

Ruth Hyde Chief Executive Broxtowe Borough Council

Sarah Jackson Cabinet Office

Mark James Chief Executive Carmarthenshire County Council

Beverley Jolly Joint Chief Executive Harborough District Council

Scott Logan Managing Director Basildon Council

Mike Lovelady Monitoring Officer / Returning Officer St Albans City and District Council

Steve Maxey Assistant Chief Executive North Warwickshire Borough Council

Daniel C Mouawad Chief Executive Spelthorne Borough Council

Luci Mould Director of Place Reigate & Banstead Borough Council

Maxine O’Mahony Executive Director Strategy Breckland Council & South Holland District Council & Governance

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Richard Payne Exec. Head Corporate Services Surrey Heath Borough Council

William Quinton Managing Director Idox

Carmel Quiqq Sales Director Modern Democracy

Aidan Rave Chief Executive South Kesteven District Council

Alan Robinson Strategic Lead for People West Lindsey District Council and Governance

Diane Shepherd Chief Executive Chichester District Council

Tim Shields Chief Executive London Borough of Hackney

Russell Stone Director of Resources North Kesteven District Council

Laura Taylor Chief Executive Winchester City Council

Claire Visser Director of CAFM Explorer Idox

Robert Walker Executive Director Place Breckland Council & South Holland District Council

Kim Webber Chief Executive West Lancashire Borough Council

Karen Whelan Chief Executive Surrey Heath Borough Council

Josie Wragg Chief Executive Slough Borough Council

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Modern Democracy

Modern Democracy is a leading provider of

innovative software to the election industry. Our

award-winning Modern Polling election day solution

has been used by authorities throughout the UK to

improve voter experience and give better control and

visibility of polling stations on election day. This cost-

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CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is one of the world’s largest

IT and business consulting services firms. CGI works

in partnership with local government to transform

citizen services, providing digital public services and

collaborating effectively across organisations and

within communities to ensure a joined-up approach

to serving society.

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Idox Elections

Idox Elections is a leading supplier of electoral

management software, services and support

Delivering end-to-end solutions for election

professionals across the UK and Europe, our

holistic approach covers all areas of electoral

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Smartmatic

Smartmatic, the world’s leading elections and

voting technology company, offers a comprehensive

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Notes and contacts

Forthcoming Events

2019 - HIGHLIGHTS

21st February

Northern Ireland Conference Member / Non-member £99

7th March

Annual Leadership Forum

Member £210 Non-member £275

Annual Charity Dinner By invitation

28th - 29th March

Solace in the South conference

Member £330Non-member £475

29th MarchMidlands

ConferenceMember £99

Non-member £149

3rd July LGA Conference reception By invitation

16th - 18th OctoberSolace Summit

2019Member £425

Non-Member £625

events.solace.org.uk for full details

Find out more at www.cgi-group.co.uk

CGI is partnering with Smartmatic to deliver electronic vote counting solution in the May 2020 Mayoral, Assembly Member and London-wide elections - bringing higher confidence to the voting process for citizens, parties, candidates and all those with an interest in the election.

Delivering transparent, secure, fast and accurate election vote counting

Follow us on Twitter@CGI_UKNEWS

Find us on FacebookFacebook.com/CGI.uk

Connect with us on LinkedInCGI

Find us on YouTubeYoutube/CGIgroup

info@smartmatic.com

Need well-run elections that your voters can trust?

We will be glad to discuss how our portfolio of solutions can help improve the efficiency and transparency of your elections.