Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Committee for 2019/20.

Resolved:

To appoint Councillor Richard Clewer as Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Committee for 2019/20.

Resolved:

To appoint Councillor Gavin Grant as Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Ian McLennan and Ian Blair-Pilling.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2019 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

It was announced that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England had announced a further, limited consultation from 2 July-29 July rather than publish it’s final recommendations. The Committee would discuss the issue under Urgent Items.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this

agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item.

Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further

clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such

questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 4 March 2019 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on 6 March 2019. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no statements or questions received.

To consider information relating to the Polling District and Polling Place Review.

Papers will be circulated in an agenda supplement to follow.

The Committee received the updated information in relation to the public consultation on the polling district and polling places review. The public notice would go out on 10 July 2019, and the closing date for consultation would be 9 September 2019. It was noted that there were only a few polling places which had accessibility issues, and that disability interest groups would be specifically contacted.

Resolved:

To authorise the Director of legal, Electoral and Registration Services in consultation with the Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee to carry out the consultation in accordance with the arrangements outlined in the report.

To consider arrangements for future Community Governance Reviews

The Committee received a report on arrangements for Community Governance Reviews. It was noted that as a result of delays to the Electoral Review this would cause delays to the start of any Community Governance Reviews, and that it would be necessary to prioritise which areas were reviewed. It was also noted that if delegation was approved by Full Council as requested, the Committee would be responsible for setting the scope and details of any forthcoming reviews, including the specific consultation arrangements in question.

Resolved:

That subject to additional delegation from Full Council, that on behalf of the Committee the Director of Legal, Electoral and Registration Services is authorised to contact all parishes to identify the number and extent of any requests for Community Governance Reviews that are desired.

An additional meeting has been scheduled for 17 July 2019, with another meeting on 26 September 2019.

The next formal meeting of the Committee would be 23 July 2019.

Any other items of business, which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

The Committee discussed the updated draft recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England(LGBCE), which were subject to a limited consultation relating to areas of Warminster, South West Wiltshire, Southern and Amesbury Area Boards.

An initial meeting had been held for local members, with some content with the proposals and the others objecting. The Chairman outlined areas of potential concern including around the Bourne Valley and Deverill Valley. It was noted that there were no easy solutions to adhere to the necessary criteria, and that even the LGBCE had exceeded its usually accepted variance levels.

Further work would be undertaken to explore options for a response by the Council, including meetings with local members and contact with parishes. As a result of the limited timescale for a response, Full Council on 9 July 2019 would be requested to delegate final approval of a response to the Committee. The deadline for consultation was 29 July 2019, with a Committee meeting on 23 July 2019.