Voting record

That on the basis of the evidence, and in light of the questions raised by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, to amend the recommendation that Full Council support a proposed council size of 85.

That this size of Council:

·         Enables the full and effective functionality of the current structure of this Council’s committees above the absolute minimum number presented to the Electoral Review Committee with a modest reduction in the number of committee places on Scrutiny Committees from 54 to 44, and of Planning committees from 52 to 43, and small reductions in the number on both Licensing and Audit Committees.

·         Recognises the appropriate weighting of the roles of this council’s Chair and Vice Chair, Cabinet Members and Portfolio Holders, Chairs and members of Committees and Panels

·         Enhances democratic fairness and community cohesion in recognising that the likely electoral size of wards will be that already serviced by several existing councillors.

·         Sustains our existing Area Board structure

·         Recognises the uniqueness of Wiltshire and its Council, while aligning our number of councillors more consistently with other unitary authorities and in particular those most recently reviewed by, or engaged with, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

That this Council authorises the delegation of the drafting and consequential changes to the Council’s submission to the Director of Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee and, if necessary, seek a short extension to the deadline for receipt of this submission from the Electoral Review Commission for England

That Council:

i) Notes the current position and the request from the Commission seeking

supplementary information on the Council’s original submission (Annex

A);

ii) Approves the supplementary information set out in Annex B as the basis

of the response to the Commission’s letter, subject to any minor drafting

and consequential changes to be delegated to the Director of Legal and

Democratic Services after consultation with the Chairman of the

Electoral Review Committee.