Mandatory Application Forms

Please complete and submit these forms as part of your application for the role of Electoral Commissioner. Your application is not complete until this form has been submitted.

In addition to these forms, you must submit a CV and Supporting Statement via the FWB Executive Search website here: https://www.fwbltd.com/assignment/commissioner-for-scotland/

Under the terms of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act a person may not be appointed as a Commissioner for the Electoral Commission if they:

a) Are an officer or employee of a registered party or of an accounting unit of such a party.

b) Hold or have at any time in the last five years held office (for example Chair, Treasurer or secretary) of a registered party or of an accounting unit of such a party.

c) Are a member of a registered party

d) Hold or have at any time in the last five years have held an elective office as a Member of Parliament, Member of the Scottish Parliament, Member of Senedd, Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Member of any local authority in the UK, including the Common Council of the City of London, but excluding a parish or community council, Member of the Greater London Assembly or Mayor of London or a local authority elected mayor .

e) Have at any time in the last five years been named in the Commission register of recordable donations (by reasons of having donated sums of £7,500 or more to a registered political party or members’ association, or sums of £1,500 or more to a party accounting unit or regulated individual).

f) Have at any time in the last five years been named as a participant in the Commission register of recordable transactions which contains borrowing reported by political parties, regulated donees, third parties and permitted participants.

All Commissioners will be required to conduct themselves so as not to raise any questions as to the political impartiality of the Commission. In particular, active political involvement, whether at a national or local level, could be regarded as incompatible with the need for the Commission to be seen as completely impartial.

Applicants must complete the questions below

This information is required to enable the appointment panel to assess whether your involvement in political activity is or has been such as to make you ineligible or unsuitable to be appointed as a Commissioner for the Electoral Commission.

It is important that candidates should provide full details of any political activity within the last 5 years. It will be for the appointment panel to determine whether it is such as to raise doubts as to the eligibility or suitability of the candidate for appointment.

Please note that you are also required to declare the political activity of any close family members or associates in the interests form in Declaration of External Interests and/or Financial Interests.

Financial interests

You are required to declare upon your appointment/engagement to the Commission and at such times that circumstances arise, any financial connection that you or your close family members or associates have that may be connected to the work of the Commission, for example a family member or associate working for a firm that is contracting or bidding for contracts with the Commission. For these purposes a close family member is defined as your spouse, civil partner, partner, children or stepchildren, parents, or any other person with whom you live in an enduring family relationship. For these purposes an associate is defined as someone who is not a family member but with whom you have frequent or significant contact, or shared interests, and where a connection which is not disclosed might give rise to perceptions of a conflict of interest.

Political interests of family members or associates

In addition to the declaration of political activity you have made, you are required to declare if a close family member or associate is closely involved with a political party or in political or campaigning activity. This is not a bar to your appointment to the Commission but is required so that the panel can assess whether it might affect perceptions of your independence. Political interests of your family members or associates should be declared here and should include details of the relationship between you together with details of their political interest/association.

(For these purposes a close family member is defined as your spouse, civil partner, partner, children or stepchildren, parents, or any other person with whom you live in an enduring family relationship. For these purposes an associate is defined as someone who is not a family member but with whom you have frequent or significant contact, or shared interests, and where a connection which is not disclosed might give rise to perceptions of a conflict of interest.)

As part of the online application process, we ask that you complete this equal opportunity monitoring page. The information on this page will be treated as confidential and used for statistical purposes only. This information will not be treated as part of your application.

The intention of monitoring and analysis is to establish if there are different success rates between genders, people of different sexual orientation, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds or faiths, and people with disabilities. If there are differences in success rates it will enable action to be taken to ensure that no group is treated unfairly. Your answers will be treated confidentially and will not affect your application in any way.

Section A: National Identity

Section B: Ethnic Background

Section C: Disability

The Equality Act 2010 defines a person with a disability as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a more than minor adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, that has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months. These include mental health conditions, neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia and long-term health conditions.

Section D: Sexual Orientation

Section E: Gender Identity

Section F: Social mobility

Section G: Caring responsibilities

Section H: Age