Agenda item

The Head of Legal Services (People) will be in attendance to present the first draft of the Council’s Submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission.

The Head of Legal Services (People) advised Members the submitted report was the first draft of the Council’s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission, as agreed at OSB’s meeting of 26 July.

Members were reminded the review had commenced in May 2023 and was happening partly due to electoral inequalities in some parts of the town. The draft submission was the culmination of phase one of a two-phase process, with the second phase beginning in November 2023. It was commented an email had been sent to all Members advising them they could submit their own proposals, in addition to the Council submission, the deadline for which was 31 October 2023. Following any input from OSB, the final version of the Council’s phase one submission would be brought to OSB’s meeting on 18 October.

The submission template was attached at Appendix 1 of the report. The submission still required minor update, namely if OSB agreed the submission was a joint Member/ Officer submission as well as the governance section requiring input from the Leadership Management Team. It was noted any reference to the Constitution was the new Constitution approved by full Council on 18 September 2023.

The draft submission recommended Councillor numbers increase by one to a total of 47. Members queried if any analysis had been carried out in relation to Marton East Ward, as Stainton and Thornton Ward had been mentioned several times. It was clarified analysis was carried out across the entire town and while some wards were notable for their population changes, there was no requirement to be ward specific at this stage.

A Member pointed out the Council had previously reduced its Councillor numbers by two following a previous boundary review. While the draft submission was generally sound, it was felt a rationale for the previous reduction was needed. The Head of Legal Services would take this away for consideration but commented the previous reduction was based on electorate numbers presented at the time. The Chair pointed out previous wards, including Middlehaven, had been significantly overrepresented and this had been part of the reason for Councillor number reductions.

The Mayor pointed out there was an important difference between population and electorate. He commented some wards in east Middlesbrough were potentially overrepresented. While there were arguments to reorganise certain wards based on statistics, there were also identity related factors that needed to be considered. The Chair suggested that, given its population change, could the proposed additional Councillor be added to the Stainton and Thornton Ward. The Head of Legal Services confirmed decisions of that nature would be driven by the Boundary Commission, however it was likely that area would be examined as part of the overall process.

The Chair also commented while there had been significant population changes in the Stainton and Thornton area, this was predicted to be more pronounced in the future and queried should the Council recommend an increase of two councillors. It was confirmed the town had been examined as a whole and an average was attempted based on the data available. The Mayor queried the possibility of Trimdon Ward being reconfigured to create an additional single Member ward, based on projected population changes in that area. The Chair reminded all Members they should not be drawn into discussions about where ward boundaries should be drawn at this stage.

It was queried if an updated dataset for the Indices of Multiple Deprivation was available as that cited in the report was for 2015 – 2019. It was clarified the Council had not been notified of any updates, but any updated information would be included in the final submission. It was also pointed out that, in respect of political balance, the MICA group appeared to be missing and needed to be included. It was suggested that a list of wards be included at a future stage with accompanying electorate and population details.

OSB agreed that despite the electoral arrangements working well in Middlesbrough an increase in one Member at this stage would be beneficial.

ORDERED that:

1.     The proposal to increase Councillor numbers by one, be approved;

2.     The proposal be a joint Member/ Officer submission;

3.     The final submission potentially included the rationale for previous Councillor reductions;

4.     Updated data relating to Indices of Multiple Deprivation be included in the final submission should they be available; and

5.     The MICA group be included in the political balance element of the submission.

SUSPENSION OF COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE NO. 4.13.2 – ORDER OF BUSINESS

ORDERED: In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 4.57, the Committee agreed to vary the order of business to deal with agenda item 8, Scrutiny Chairs Update, as the next item: