Section 48 and Schedule 18: Powers to act for the protection of public health: Northern Ireland Section 61: Power to postpone certain other elections and referendums
This section provides a power for the Secretary of State or Minister for the Cabinet Office to postpone, by regulations, other ‘relevant’ elections and referendums (not covered in section 60) that cannot currently be anticipated. Such elections would include, for example, by-elections which are required by statute to be held within a specified period after the triggering event.
	The Prime Minister has taken the decision that the scheduled elections due to take place on 7th May 2020 should be postponed by a year. It follows that it may be desirable and necessary to postpone other elections (such as by-elections and local referendums) that arise during the COVID-19 outbreak. This section provides the necessary power to enable this.
	This section sets out that the Secretary of State or Minister for the Cabinet Office may make regulations to postpone the date of a ‘relevant’ election or referendum, so long as the election or referendum is held on the date or within the period specified in the regulations (and is not later than 6th May 2021). Where appropriate, this power can be exercised more than once. This section also confers power by regulations to delay the holding of any relevant election or referendum that falls within a period specified in the regulations until a later date or period specified in the regulations (which again cannot be or end later than 6th May 2021).
	This section states that a ‘relevant’ election or referendum is one for which the poll falls in the period between the day on which this Act is passed and ending with 5th May 2021 and which is within one of the categories of election or referendum set out in the section. These categories include elections: to fill a ‘casual vacancy’ (by-elections) in local government in either England or Northern Ireland; the Greater London Assembly; in the office of the London Mayor or in the office of an elected mayor; or in the office of a Police and Crime Commissioner in England. They also include referendums under section 9MC of the Local Government Act 2000 (referendums following petition); under section 52ZN of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (in relation to council tax); and referendums under Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (on neighbourhood development plans).
	This section makes clear that the power can be applied to specified descriptions of elections or referendums. So, for example, regulations made under this section could make provision by reference to a group of elections in a specific area, of a specific nature, or falling within a specific time period.
	This section allows regulations under this section to amend legislation, e.g. where a date set out in primary or secondary legislation needs to be amended.
	This section provides for regulations under the power to be subject to the negative procedure. This is to enable the elections set out above to be postponed in situations where either Parliament is not sitting or is unavailable.
	The territorial extent and application of this section is England and Wales and Northern Ireland only.