AGENDA ITEM SA1
BOROUGH OF POOLE
COUNCIL
16 DECEMBER 2014
THE NEW ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BOROUGH OF POOLE: REPORT OF THE HEAD OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN: YES
STATUS: STRATEGIC
1. PURPOSE
1.1 To advise Council on the completion of the further Electoral Review of the Borough of Poole by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
1.2 To consider the Review of the Polling Districts and Places which was carried out following completion of the Boundary Review on 23 September 2014.
2. DECISION REQUIRED
2.1 It is recommended that Council
(i) approve the Scheme for Polling Districts and Polling Places and the Electoral Registration and Returning Officer implement the Proposals for the 7th May 2015 combined ‘all out’ Borough and Parliamentary Elections; and
(ii) request that the Electoral and Registration Returning Officer carry out a further Polling District and Polling Place Review once the Parliamentary Boundary Commission have published their findings for the review of Parliamentary Constituencies within the County of Dorset.
3. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION
3.1 The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) commenced a review of the Council’s Electoral arrangements in January 2013 due to an electoral imbalance in six out of the sixteen Wards, viz Hamworthy East, Canford Cliffs, Branksome East, Newtown, Oakdale and Creekmoor.
3.2 The Review has now been completed and in real terms, the recommendations, which will now be enshrined in a Statutory Order, provides for 16 Wards (42 Councillors and results in some quite minor changes to the current Ward Boundaries (Appendix A).
3.3 The situation is complicated by virtue of the fact that the Parliamentary Boundary Review was halted in 2013 and therefore remain unaltered which means that they are now out of synchronisation with the amended Ward Boundaries and Polling Districts. The situation will be corrected when the Parliamentary Boundary Commission recommence their project/review after the 2015 elections and report back on their findings by no later than 2018.
3.4 The Officer based Project Team working in conjunction with a cross party Member Working Group, agreed that, ideally, there should be a reduction in the numbers of polling places and a review should be carried out into the use of the large number of mobile buildings as polling stations. Indeed, at the last 2011 Borough Council elections, 21 temporary buildings were used as polling places.
3.5 As part of the Review, turn-out figures in local and national elections were considered in detail. At the last Borough Council elections, the turn-out was up to 37% whereas, for a Parliamentary Election it was 73%.
3.6 There is every indication that for the 7th May 2015 elections, the turn-out for the combined poll could be up to 80%. Indeed, the Electoral Commission are now consulting with Returning Officers over implementing plans for dealing with potential queues at Polling Stations.
3.7 Against this backdrop, it seems ill advised at this stage to reduce the number of places that the electors of Poole can use to cast their vote. Indeed, with the existing arrangements having been in place for over five elections and it is clear that many electors have now got used to their polling districts/ places.
3.8 In conjunction with the GIS Team and using various data layers, a scheme has been prepared which leaves the polling districts unchanged in the seven Wards which remain unaltered in the LGBCE’s final recommendations, namely: Broadstone, Canford Heath East, Canford Heath West, Creekmoor, Hamworthy East, Hamworthy West and Merley Bearwood.
3.9 The nine Wards, namely: Alderney, Branksome East, Branksome West, Canford Cliffs, Newtown, Oakdale, Parkstone, Penn Hill and Poole Town, where the boundaries have been altered, albeit in the main in a minor way, have been reviewed and places identified as polling stations.
3.10 The Proposals (Appendix B) provide for seventy-seven polling districts as opposed to the existing 73, but this figure includes the creation of five small polling districts (GD; GE; HE; HF and IH) the smallest containing a handful of properties to deal with the issue caused by the disparity in the Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries.
3.11 Potential polling stations have been identified in these Wards and many are premises that have been used in the past as polling stations.
3.12 The proposed Scheme provides for a reduction in the number of mobile stations over the previous election from 21 down to 7, although it is hoped that this number could be reduced further if other suitable premises can be retained.
4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
4.1 There will be savings in the hire charges for mobile buildings and these savings will be used to cover the additional costs incurred by the increase in Royal Mail postal charges and the anticipated increase in the number of postal votes for the May 2015 Elections.
4.2 Substantial savings have been made with regard to the budget set aside to cover the review as the LGBCE met all the costs of the consultation, however, sufficient funds exist to provide large scale maps for individual Councillors for their Ward and, indeed, the whole Scheme.
5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1 The Electoral Registration and Returning Officer has a statutory duty to provide adequate voting facilities for all electors.
5.2 Too many electors allocated to a polling station or the use of unsuitable premises in terms of access or location could compromise the election.
6. RISK MANAGEMENT
6.1 Risks were considered when looking at the possibility of moving to an alternative polling place. It is believed that there are no serious unmitigated risks. For example, new polling places were visited and assessed regarding their suitability for use as polling stations.
6.2 Electors will be notified of any changes to polling places through clear messaging on poll cards and directed to comprehensive details on the Borough of Poole website.
7. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
7.1 All premises that might/will be used as polling stations will be fully accessible to disabled persons.
8. CONCLUSIONS
8.1 It is considered that the proposed Scheme will continue to provide proper facilities for the electors of Poole which will be DDA compliant.
8.2 There is a minimum of change but there will be a large reduction in the number of mobile buildings used as polling stations.
8.3 Clearly, there is an issue with regard to the Parliamentary Boundaries and a full review will be necessary ahead of the 2019 Borough Elections and will be combined with European Elections.
8.4 The Register of Electors will need to be republished on 1st February 2015 to comply with the Local Government Boundary Commission’s Electoral Arrangements and copies of the updated and amended Register will be made available to all political parties, candidates etc as it will be the Register on which the May elections will be conducted.
Tim Martin
Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Contact Officers:
Paul MorrisElectoral Services Manager
Tel: 01202 633028 / Debbie Turkoz
Electoral Services Officer
Tel: 01202 633061
BACKGROUND PAPERS
(i) Council Submission to Local Government Boundary Commission for England
(ii) Local Government Boundary Commission for England Final Recommendations Report
(iii) Schedule of 2011 Polling Districts/Places
(iv) Schedule of proposed 2015 Polling Districts/Places
(v) Large Scale Ward Maps
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