Issue - meetings

(a)       That the County Council noted the current position of the community review; and

(b)       That the County Council request the Welsh Government to give an assurance that the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill would only apply to reviews commenced after the Bill had been passed.

The Chief Executive introduced a report to inform Council of the planning arrangements for the community review.

            It had been a number of years since the County Council last carried out a community review.  The Council had committed to undertake a review with the intention of commencing such a review at the beginning of 2013. 

            The Democracy and Governance Manager reported that on the 29 November, 2012 the Welsh Government (WG) published the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill.  That Bill replicated the existing provisions for community reviews in the 1972 Act but also adds provisions detailing the process that should be followed in conducting a community review.  The Democracy and Governance Manager explained that the detailed provisions in the Bill about how a review must be conducted may be amended as part of the Parliamentary process leading to enactment.  This could create a potential difficulty in that if the Council conducted a community review in accordance with the provisions in the Bill that work could prove abortive if those provisions were amended.  The Chief Executive suggested that the Council request the WG to give an assurance that the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill would only apply to reviews commenced after the Bill had been passed.  He also suggested that this matter could be raised during a coming meeting of the Welsh Local Government Association Council (WLGA) (NB avoid acronyms).     

            Councillor J.B. Attridge proposed that the County Council support the recommendation outlined within the report and request the Welsh Government to give an assurance that the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill would only apply to reviews commenced after the Bill had been passed.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor R.J.T. Guest.    

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the County Council noted the current position of the community review; and

(b)       That the County Council request the Welsh Government to give an assurance that the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Bill would only apply to reviews commenced after the Bill had been passed.