Agenda item

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has notified the Council that it will conduct an electoral review of the Borough during 2020-2022.  The review process has now commenced. In December 2020, the Executive set up an informal cross-party councillor working group to develop a recommendation on the future size of the Council, to inform the first stage of the Boundary Commission’s review.

The Working Group has met three times, and considered carefully the key lines of enquiry set out in the Boundary Commission’s ‘Council Size’ template. A councillor survey has been carried out to capture information about how councillors engage with residents and how they spend their time in their role as councillor. The attached Council Size submission (Annexe 1) sets out the argument for the size of Waverley Borough Council to be reduced to 50 councillors, with effect from the Borough elections in May 2023. Attached at Annexe 2 is a table showing a comparison of council size and electorate numbers for neighbouring authorities.

Recommendation

The Executive recommend to Council that the attached LGBCE Council Size document be approved as the Council’s submission to the electoral review of Waverley Borough Council, including a proposed council size from May 2023 of 50 councillors.

93.1     The Leader of the Council, Cllr John Ward, introduced the proposed submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) on Council Size, to inform the Commission’s review of electoral equality in Waverley Borough.

93.2     Council noted that the LGBCE had a statutory duty to review every English local authority ‘from time to time’. As Waverley had not had an electoral review since 1998 the Commission had advised the Council that a review would commence in 2020 and take effect at the May 2023 elections. The aim of the review was to seek to deliver electoral equality for voters in local elections and would therefore propose new electoral arrangements for:

· The total number of councillors to be elected to the council: council size.

· The names, number and boundaries of wards.

· The number of councillors to be elected from each ward.

93.3     The Leader had made strong representations to the LGBCE about the timing of the review, given the Council’s focus on responding to the Covid pandemic, and the ongoing uncertainty about the impacts of Brexit and possible future local government reorganisation in Surrey. However, it had not been possible to alter the timeframe for the review. A cross-party working group had considered carefully the criteria used by the LGBCE to make their decision on council size: strategic leadership, governance, and community involvement; and also noted that Waverley was out of step with neighbouring boroughs in terms of the ratio of electors to councillors. Whilst there was broad agreement on the benefit of multi-member wards, preferably each with two councillors, there had been a diverse range of views on the preferred number of councillors for Waverley, ranging from 44 to an increase to 62. The proposed council size of 50 councillors was a compromise felt to be supported by a majority of the council and had been reached following consideration of a number of scenarios, and recognising that retaining the status quo of 57 councillors would still result in changes to ward boundaries.

93.4     In the following debate the following Members spoke: Cllrs Follows, Williams, Cosser, Nicholson, Goodridge, Potts, Cockburn, Hyman, Foryszewski, Wilson, Davidson, Rosoman, and Beaman. Arguments were made in favour of both a more radical reduction in council size than that proposed, and also retaining the current council size, reflecting the discussions in the working group. It was noted that the council size had not changed in many years, and in a fully-parished district there was a high level of democratic representation. However, there was also concern that reducing the number of councillors would impact on local democracy at a time of increasing elector numbers, and that the rural geography of Waverley favoured a retaining a larger council size. It was noted that the majority of the Conservative Group favoured retaining 57 councillors, and they would be making a separate submission to the LGBCE.

93.5     Cllr David Beaman proposed, and Cllr Jerome Davidson seconded an amendment that the Council should agree a proposed council size of 44 councillors.

93.6     The amendment was debated and voted upon via a show of hands, the results of which were 7 councillors voting in favour, 39 against, and 3 abstentions. The amendment therefore failed and councillors resumed the debate on the substantive motion, on a council size submission of 50.

93.7     Concluding arguments reflected the diversity of opinions previously articulated, whilst noting that it was difficult to provide evidence to support any particular number. In summing up, the Leader noted that there was comfort in the familiarity of the status quo, but change in ward boundaries was inevitable whatever the eventual size of the council; and he had heard no evidence to justify why Waverley should be so out of step with neighbouring councils regarding council size. The LGBCE would make the final decision on the future council size, but among the range of opinions within the council there was a prevailing view in favour of some degree of reduction in council size.

93.8     At 9.52pm, in accordance with Procedure Rule 9, the Mayor put the motion that the meeting should continue until 10.30pm and then stand adjourned, which was agreed.

93.9     The Leader called for a recorded vote on the recommendation to agree the Council’s submission to the electoral review of Waverley Borough Council, including a proposed council size from May 2023 of 50 councillors, which was supported by Cllrs Follows, Williams, Davidson, Potts, and Merryweather. Following the vote, with 30 votes in favour, 21 votes against and no abstentions, the Council

93.10   RESOLVED that the LGBCE Council Size document be approved as the Council’s submission to the electoral review of Waverley Borough Council, including a proposed council size from May 2023 of 50 councillors.

For: 30

Cllrs Christine Baker, David Beaman, Roger Blishen, Peter Clark, Richard Cole, Martin D’Arcy, Jerome Davidson, Sally Dickson, Paul Follows, Mary Foryszewski, Joan Heagin, Daniel Hunt, Jerry Hyman, Jacquie Keen, Andy MacLeod, Penny Marriott, Peter Marriott, Mark Merryweather, John Neale, Peter Nicholson, Nick Palmer, Ruth Reed, Paul Rivers, Penny Rivers, John Robini, Anne-Marie Rosoman, Liz Townsend, John Ward, Steve Williams, George Wilson

            Against: 21

            Cllrs Brian Adams, Carole Cockburn, Steve Cosser, Kevin Deanus, Simon Dear, Brian Edmonds, Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Michael Goodridge, John Gray, Val Henry, Christine Howard, Peter Isherwood, Anna James, Robert Knowles, Peter Martin, Stephen Mulliner, Julia Potts, Trevor Sadler, Michaela Wicks

            Abstentions: 0