Agenda item

To note the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission, published on 13th July 2010.

Consideration was given to the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s final recommendations for new local government electoral arrangements in Cheshire East, which had been published on 13 July 2010. An additional covering report relating to the recommendations was circulated at the meeting.

The following motion was proposed and seconded:-

That taking into account :–

a)     That the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission are unreasonable in that they fail effectively to take into account and give due weight to the submissions of this Council and other representatives of the local community.

b)     The final recommendations would be complex and very costly to introduce at a time when this Council is being urged to make budgetary savings.

c)      The final recommendations of the Boundary Commission having just been published will not be laid until October.

d)     If objections to the order are received, it will be at least a further 40 days from October before the proposals can be considered by Parliament and the outcome known.

e)     The proposals involve an increase in the number of Wards for Cheshire East from 27 at present to a total of 52 Wards, involving a mixture of 3, 2 and Single Member Wards, thereby making the administration of elections much more complex.

f)        That the next elections for both Cheshire East Council and the Town & Parish Councils in the area are to be held in May 2011, together with the proposed national referendum on electoral reform.

g)     The above uncertainties over the parliamentary timescale, which indicate it will not be possible to make boundary changes to the electoral registers in time for the annual canvass in the early autumn, meaning that the work would have to be repeated subsequently to enable new electoral registers to be produced based on the new electoral arrangements thereby creating more work and additional administrative cost. 

h)      The proposals also involve consequential changes to the warding arrangements for the Parishes of Congleton, Gawsworth, Nantwich, Poynton, Sandbach, Weston & Willaston.

This Council resolves:

To ask Parliament to reject the Order containing the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission and requests the Leader of the Council to write to the local MP’s and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government accordingly, so that a complete revision of the boundaries can take place at the same time as the Parliamentary Boundary Review in 2014. This would enable the Boundary Commission to take a holistic view of the impact that the radical changes, that are likely in the design of the Parliamentary constituency boundaries, will have on the local authority ward structure and town and parish boundaries.     

A requisition for a named vote was submitted and duly supported with the following results :-

For

The Mayor, Councillor G Baxendle, the Deputy Mayor, Councillor R West,

Councillors C Andrew, Rhoda Bailey, A Barratt, G Barton, D Bebbington, S Bentley, D Brickhill, D Brown, J Crockatt,, M Davies, S Davies, R Domleo, B Dykes, J P Findlow, R W J Fitzgerald, S Furlong, H Gaddum, L Gilbert, J Hammond, T Jackson, J Jones, A J Knowles, A Kolker, W Livesley, J Macrae, A Martin, P Mason, R Menlove, A Moran, B Moran, R Parker, A Ranfield, B Silvester, M Simon, L Smetham, D Stockton, D Thompson A Thwaite, D Topping, R C Walker, G Walton, J Weatherill, R Westwood, P Whiteley, S Wilkinson and J V Wray.

Against

Councillors E Alcock, T Beard, S Broadhurst, D J Cannon, R Cartlidge, S Conquest, P Edwards, R Fletcher, D Flude, D Hough, S Jones, M Martin, S McGrory, J Narraway, D Neilson, M Parsons, C Thorley and C Tomlinson.

The motion was declared carried, with 48 voting for and18 against.

The following motion was also moved and seconded and declared carried:-

That the final recommendations and report of the Boundary Commission  in  respect of the new local government electoral arrangements in Cheshire East be noted.

RESOLVED

1.      That the final recommendations and report of the Boundary Commission  in  respect of   the new local government electoral arrangements in Cheshire East be noted.

2.      That taking into account :–

a)     That the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission are unreasonable in that they fail effectively to take into account and give due weight to the submissions of this Council and other representatives of the local community.

b)     The final recommendations would be complex and very costly to introduce at a time when this Council is being urged to make budgetary savings.

c)      The final recommendations of the Boundary Commission having just been published will not be laid until October.

d)     If objections to the order are received, it will be at least a further 40 days from October before the proposals can be considered by Parliament and the outcome known.

e)     The proposals involve an increase in the number of Wards for Cheshire East from 27 at present to a total of 52 Wards, involving a mixture of 3, 2 and Single Member Wards, thereby making the administration of elections much more complex.

f)        That the next elections for both Cheshire East Council and the Town & Parish Councils in the area are to be held in May 2011, together with the proposed national referendum on electoral reform.

g)     The above uncertainties over the parliamentary timescale, which indicate it will not be possible to make boundary changes to the electoral registers in time for the annual canvass in the early autumn, meaning that the work would have to be repeated subsequently to enable new electoral registers to be produced based on the new electoral arrangements thereby creating more work and additional administrative cost. 

h)      The proposals also involve consequential changes to the warding arrangements for the Parishes of Congleton, Gawsworth, Nantwich, Poynton, Sandbach, Weston & Willaston.

This Council resolves:

To ask Parliament to reject the Order containing the final recommendations of the Boundary Commission and requests the Leader of the Council to write to the local MP’s and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government accordingly, so that a complete revision of the boundaries can take place at the same time as the Parliamentary Boundary Review in 2014. This would enable the Boundary Commission to take a holistic view of the impact that the radical changes, that are likely in the design of the Parliamentary constituency boundaries, will have on the local authority ward structure and town and parish boundaries.