Issue - meetings

That the report be received.

The Chief Executive introduced a report on the Local Democracy & Boundary Commission for Wales local review proposals and to seek the Council’s views on what process it would like to follow to prepare and approve a response before the end of November 2019.  He advised that the proposals were subject to constructive challenge and change during the review process and had only recently been published.  There was a 12 week consultation period and a second response to the Commission would be provided before the end of November.  At the end of the consultation period the Commission would produce recommendations for all 22 authorities in Wales and a Final Proposals Report would be submitted to the Welsh Government to be adopted with or without amendment in readiness for the next local government elections which were scheduled to take place in 2022.

                        The Chief Executive referred to discussions which had taken place with Group Leaders to consider initial views on the proposals and how best to formulate a response to the Commission.  He reported that the view of Group Leaders was that too many multi-Member wards were recommended by the Commission, with too much variation within them.  He explained that Group Leaders also challenged why new proposals by the Commission substituted the proposals that the Council had made and which already complied.  Group Leaders also challenged the extent to which the Commission had met its own criteria  and felt that community ‘ties’, identity, and names were being lost in some cases.  Concerns were raised around the non-alignment of community boundaries, the variance in figures across the total member wards where parity had been the objective, and population growth and its differential impacts on member-elector ratios across the County.  The Chief Executive explained that initial views had been shared with the Commissioner by Group Leaders and officers at a meeting earlier today. 

The Chief Executive suggested that during the coming weeks a number of informal meetings be offered to Members to consider the proposals in further detail.  The Chief Executive also advised that where there was evidence of a strong alignment between the Council’s views and that of the local Town or Community Council a joint response could be made to the Commission with greater strength than singular responses.  In summary, the Chief Executive emphasised that the Commission had limited flexibility within the laws and Terms of Reference; a recommendation would be made to the WG; and changes to the current arrangement of local electoral wards would take place by 2022.

Councillor Ian Roberts moved that Council received the report and this was duly seconded.  He thanked the Chief Executive for his comments and Group Leaders for their initial responses.  He felt it was important that Members followed the process as outlined by the Chief Executive and that where there was interest from towns and rural areas that representatives of those Town and Community Councils meet with Officers of the Council to consider the possibility of putting forward a joint proposal to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39