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Issue - meetings

District Boundary Review - Council Size Proposal

 

 

Meeting: 25/09/2024 - Council (Item 36)

36 District Boundary Review - Council Size Proposal pdf icon PDF 115 KB

Purpose

For Full Council to consider the draft Council Size Proposal for submission to The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).

 

Recommendation

That Council resolves to:

1.      Approve the draft Council Size Proposal (Annex A) for submission to The Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

2.      Delegate authority to the Business Manager for Democratic Services, in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer and the Chair of the Boundary Review Working Group, to finalise the Council Size Proposal document to reflect the discussion at full Council (if required) and to make other minor amendments to improve the document prior to submission.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was for Full Council to consider the draft Council Size Proposal for submission to The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).

 

The Deputy Leader, Councillor Evemy as Chair of the Boundary Review Working Group, was then invited to introduce the report and made the following points:

 

  • The Council agreed in 2023 to set up a Boundary Review Working Group to make recommendations on the size of the Council, the number of wards, the number of Councillors per ward and the ward names.
  • Thanks were given to the Members of the group and the officers involved. Particularly the Business Manager for Democratic Services for the work done to formulate the submission document to the LGBCE.
  • The proposals from officers regarding the Council Size were discussed during meetings of the group alongside the Member Survey which contributed to the final recommendations.
  • An increase from 34 to 37 Councillors was recommended to maintain a consistent number of electors per councillor and to help councillors manage an increase in workload. This workload derived from the increase in the number of meetings and casework from residents.
  • The preference for the Council would be to only have single member wards but it would be up to the LGBCE to determine the final warding.
  • The report’s recommendations based on cross-party discussions were welcomed.

 

Councillor David Fowles seconded the proposal and made the following points:

 

  • Thanks were given to Councillor Evemy as the Chair of the Boundary Review Working Group for his leadership on the group.
  • Whilst the proposal was only a modest increase it represented a positive step for those Councillors whose workload had expanded.
  • Thanks were given to the Electoral Services Manager for her work on the review of polling stations.

 

It was noted that the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee was replaced by the Gloucestershire Economic Strategy Scrutiny Committee. This was noted for correction in the document.

 

It was highlighted by many Members that the report was comprehensive in its assessment of the current circumstances and thanks were given to the officers for this.

 

Councillor Evemy in summing up thanked Members for their comments and noted that recommendation 2 provided appropriate delegations for any final changes needed. The document was highlighted as part of an evidence-based exercise to summarise the needs of the Council.

 

 

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