23rdNovember 2011 / AGENDA ITEM 7
REVIEW OF POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING PLACES
1.0Matter for consideration
1.1To consider the Returning Officer’s proposals arising from the review of polling districts and polling stations within the Borough of Blackpool.
2.0Recommendation(s)
2.1That the proposals for polling districts and polling stations contained within the Returning Officer’s report attached at Appendix 7(a) be approved.
2.2That all polling districts and polling places are reviewed on a regular four-yearly cycle to ensure that a consistent approach is taken across the Borough.
3.0Background
3.1Section 16 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006,which came into force on 1st January 2007 and the Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places (Parliamentary Elections) Regulations 2006, introduced a number of changes to the Representation of the People Act 1983 in respect of the way in which reviews of polling districts and polling places must be undertaken.
4.0The first review
4.1In compliance with the Electoral Administration Act 2006 every council in England and Wales must have undertaken and completed a review of all of the polling districts and polling places in its area by 31st December 2007. A further review must be completed before the end of the period of four years starting with the completion of the previous review. This means in effect that by December 31 2011 the Council must have undertaken two full reviews of the electoral arrangements.
4.2Appendix 7(a)contains details of current polling districts and polling places by ward in the borough of Blackpool, and also details of any proposed changes and the reasons for such changes for the current review. Where possible, existing polling stations have not been changed unless a nearer or more suitable building is now available, in order to avoid confusion to the electorate. No polling districts have been changed in this review.
4.3This information has been supplied in the form of a report to members of the Council, and to persons who have particular expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for persons who have different forms of disability. The report has also been posted on the Council’s website.
5.0Matters for information / clarification
5.1A polling district is the geographical sub-division of an electoral ward. The Council is responsible for dividing its area into polling districts for UK Parliamentary elections and for keeping the polling districts under review. Although there is no requirement to sub-divide local government electoral wards into polling districts, it is recognised good practice to do so.
5.2In Blackpool the same polling districts are used for UK Parliamentary, European Parliamentary, and local government elections. When designating polling districts, the Council must seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
5.3For clarity, a polling place is the building in which a polling station is located and a polling station is the actual area where the process of voting takes place, and must be located within the polling place designated for the particular polling district. This function is the responsibility of the Returning Officer. The Council must designate a polling place for every polling district in the Borough and must also keep the polling places under review.
5.4The Council must:
a) Seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances;
b) seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places they are responsible for are accessible to all electors, including those who are disabled.
5.5In addition, the polling place for a polling district must be within the area of the district unless special circumstances make it desirable or necessary to designate an area either wholly or partly outside of the polling district.
6.0The review process
6.1Publication of initial notice
6.1.1The Council is required to publish notice of the holding of a review and this has been done by way of articles in the Gazette, a notice posted outside of the Town Hall, and on the Council’s website.
6.2The role of the Returning Officer
6.2.1The Council is required to consult the Returning Officer for every parliamentary constituency that is wholly or partly within its area. This means that the Returning Officer must consult the Returning Officer of Wyre Borough Council in respect of the Wyre wards within the parliamentary constituency of Blackpool North and Cleveleys.
6.2.2For the current review, all polling places within the Wyre wards, which form part of this constituency, have now been reviewed by the Returning Officer of Wyre Borough Council, and meet with his approval.
6.2.3The Returning Officer is required to make representations to the Council, which must include information as to the location of polling places (both existing and proposed).
6.2.4Within thirty calendar days of their receipt, the Council is required to publish the Returning Officer’s representations, as a minimum:
• at the Council’s office;
• at least one other conspicuous place in the area; and
• on the Council’s website.
6.3Other representations
6.3.1In reviewing polling districts and polling places, the Council is required to actively seek representations from such persons as it thinks have particular expertise in relation to:
• access to premises; or
• facilities for persons who have different forms of disability.
6.3.2Such persons must be given the opportunity to make representations and to comment on the representations made by the returning officer. In addition, any elector in the constituency may make representations on the designation of polling places to the council.
6.3.3No adverse comments have been received from the disability organisations consulted as part of this review regarding accessibility or facilities for electors with disabilities at any specificBlackpool polling place. The Council received one representation from a member of the public although this contained general statements and questions that were not specific to a particular polling station and were therefore not appropriate to include in this review and have been handled separately as appropriate.
6.4Completion of the review
6.4.1On completion of a review, the Council is required to give reasons for its decisions in respect of the designation of both polling districts and polling places. In addition, the Council must publish:
• all correspondence sent to a Returning Officer in connection with the review, and all correspondence sent to any person whom the authority thinks has particular expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for persons who have different forms of disability;
• all representations made by any person in connection with the review;
• the minutes of any meetings held by the authority where details of the review have been considered;
• details of the actual designations of polling districts and polling places agreed as a result of the review; and
• details of where the results of the review have been published.
6.5Challenge of review
6.5.1Although the Electoral Commission has no initial role in the review process itself, it has an extremely important role in respect of considering representations and observations made that the Council has not conducted a review so as to:
• meet the reasonable requirements of the electors in the constituency, or a body of them (i.e. the reasonable requirements of a particular area of the authority have not been satisfactorily met); or
• take sufficient account of the accessibility to disabled persons of polling stations within a designated polling place.
6.6Representations to the Electoral Commission
6.6.1Section 18D (1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, sets out who may make representations to the Electoral Commission, namely:
• in England, any parish council that is wholly or partly situated within the constituency (or parish meeting where there is no such council);
• not less than thirty registered electors in the constituency (although electors registered anonymously cannot make such a representation);
• any person (except the Returning Officer) who made representations to the authority when the review was being undertaken; and
• any person who is not an elector in a constituency in the authority’s area who the Commission feels has sufficient interest in the accessibility of disabled persons to polling places in the area or has particular expertise in relation to the access to premises or facilities of disabled persons.
6.6.2Also, the Returning Officer may make observations on any representations made to the Commission.
6.7Review by the Electoral Commission
6.7.1The Electoral Commission is required to consider any such representations and observations, and after doing so, may direct the relevant authority to make any alterations it sees necessary to the polling places designated by the review.
6.7.2Should the Council fail to make the alterations within two months of the direction being given, the Commission may make the alterations itself.
7.0Next steps for the current review
7.1Final proposals, once passed by the Council, will be published soon afterwards.
7.2The new electoral register will be published on 1st December 2011. New polling places will become effective at all elections held after this date.
8.0Subsequent reviews
8.1Following the first review, the Council then completes a further review of every polling district and polling place before the end of the period of four years starting with the completion of the previous review. In effect, this means that by 31st December 2011, the Council will have undertaken two full reviews of the electoral arrangements.
8.2The Council may undertake reviews of all or some of the designated polling districts and polling places at any time, but must undertake a review of each within four years of the previous review.
8.3For administrative convenience, it would seem sensible to review all polling districts and polling places on a regular four-yearly cycle, regardless of whether or not a particular polling district or polling place has been reviewed for some reason (e.g. because of an influx of electors in an area or the non-availability of a building designated as a polling place) in the intervening period. This will help in ensuring that a consistent approach is taken across the Borough.
9.0Financial considerations
9.1There are no direct financial implications arising from the review although indirect costs such as the cost of hiring polling stations may arise.
10.0Legal considerations
10.1Section 16 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006, which came into force on 1st January 2007, introduced a number of changes to the Representation of the People Act 1983 in respect of the way in which reviews of polling districts and polling places must be undertaken.
Relevant officer:
Neil Jack, Chief Executive / Returning Officer
Tel: (01253) 477001, e-mail
Appendices attached:
Appendix 7(a): Details of current and proposed polling districts and polling places (attached separately)
Background papers: None
Websites and e-mail links for further information:
Glossary: N/a