The Head of Legal Services (People) will be in attendance to provide a verbal update on Middlesbrough’s Boundary Review 2023.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed the Head of Legal Services (People) and invited her to deliver her presentation.
OSB was advised the Local Government Boundary Commission looked at electoral arrangements for a local authority. This included the number of Councillors, polling places and so on.
One of the reasons Middlesbrough was undergoing the review was due to electoral inequality. This was the result of population changes since the previous review with the review examining if the number of electors per Councillor was still relevant. There were some wards that had experienced significant population changes including Stainton and Thornton.
A Member queried how population variation affected the review. The Head of Legal Services explained population variance was not an exact science and considered different factors in the area. It was agreed that the presentation slides would be sent to OSB.
It was explained the Boundary Review was spit into two phases. The first phase was a data gathering exercise and included statistical data collection including number of Councillors and a geocoded electoral register. This process was at a preliminary stage and needed to be submitted to the Boundary Commission by the end of October 2023.
OSB’s role in the Boundary Review was also explained to Members. One of the first tasks for OSB would be to consider the report containing the result of the data gathering exercise. The report would consider several factors including the role of a Councillor in Middlesbrough, the Council’s Committee Structure and Electorate Projections.
Members were also advised there was a guidance document about the review that had initially been circulated following an all-Member briefing. The Head of Legal Services agreed to circulate this to OSB following the meeting.
It was suggested that Phase two of the Boundary Review could cause the most issues, and it would be this phase where OSB needed to actively engage with the process. Members were advised that any recommendations would come into force in 2027.
The first draft of the Phase one submission would be brought to OSB on the 20th September with the final draft being submitted at the 18th October meeting of OSB.
A Member queried what work was being done to include residents on the electoral register. It was confirmed a lot of work had been undertaken in the lead up to the election as well as the usual annual canvass. It was also discussed that non-registration was a significant problem in some parts of the town. It was also discussed that this was a problem nationally.
The Head of Legal Services was asked if the Council’s budgetary constraints played a factor in this process. It was explained that the Council’s budgetary position was not a consideration for the Boundary Commission. However, until the data had been gathered and analysed it was impossible to know how the results of the review would impact on the Council’s financial position.
It was discussed if the final proposal would contain different proposals or several proposals.
The Chair commented the recommendations of the previous Boundary Review were based on the Council’s input but there was also political group input.
It was also queried if the recommendations would be in place for 10 years. It was clarified that while this was the norm, the time period between reviews was not set in stone as other factors could trigger further reviews. It was also commented that using only electoral register data may leave gaps in the resulting proposal. It was clarified that some data was census driven.
The Chair commented that one of the driving factors behind the review was the population variance in the Stainton and Thornton Ward since the last review. It was also commented that, at first glance, the data suggested an additional Councillor may be required. However, it would be for the outcome of the review to determine this as there were other factors that contributed to the final recommendations.
The Chair also commented that for Parliamentary Boundary reviews there was an ideal number of electors per constituency. He queried if a similar number was required for local government boundary reviews. The Head of Legal Services was not aware of such as a figure but would find this information and advise the Board accordingly. The Chair also emphasised an earlier point that the electorate was not the same as the population and this needed to be in the background of any discussions that took place.
A member queried if levels of deprivation or need would be a contributory factor when determining levels of representation. It was confirmed information about deprivation levels would be added to the report that was brought back to OSB.
The Chair thanked the Head of Legal Services for her presentation.
ORDERED that:
1. The slides presented be circulated to OSB;
2. The Boundary Review guidance for Members be circulated to OSB;
3. That a distinction be made between population and electorate statistics in the report brought back to OSB; and
4. The information presented be noted.