Agenda item

To seek approval from Full Council for the draft submission on Council size regarding future electoral arrangements to the LGBCE, as recommended by the Democracy and Standards Committee.

The report before Council set out the recommendations of the Democracy and Standards Committee meeting held on 12^th April 2022. The Committee had considered proposals of a cross-party member/officer working group which had been formed to formulate a response to the Commission’s current consultation on stage 1 (council size) for future electoral arrangements in North Northamptonshire.

Details of the Committee’s deliberation together with a copy of the draft submission papers had been circulated as part of the Council agenda pack.

It was noted in the report that the Committee were recommending in the draft submission that the council size be increased, effective from 2025, from 78 councillors to 99 councillors. It was further noted that alternative proposals from the Labour Group (84-86 councillors) and the Green Alliance Group (60 councillors) had been tabled in discussions.

The recommendations in the report were MOVED by Councillor Lora Lawman and SECONDED by Councillor Gill Mercer. Councillor Lawman drew Council’s attention to the reasoning use in suggesting an increase in councillor numbers which included the significant population growth projected for the area over the coming years, the current workload of councillors and council involvement in outside bodies.

RESOLVED that: -

(i)            The work of the Officer/Member Working Group on the first phase of electoral arrangements for North Northamptonshire be noted;

(ii)           The completed background evidence and information contained in the council size template at Appendix A, for submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) be approved;

(iii)          A Council size number of the Working Group’s recommended figure of 99, endorsed by the Democracy and Standards Committee, set out at the end of Appendix A be approved;

(iv)          The alternative options put forward by the Labour and Green Alliance representations, set out in paragraph 5.2 of the report, be noted; and

(v)           Delegated authority be granted to the Director of Governance and Human Resources, in consultation with the Chair of the Democracy and Standards Committee, to make any amendments to the proposed submission to LGBCE prior to its submission in light of any comments from this Council and any minor/typographical changes identified.

(Councillors Hakewill and Griffiths wished it recorded in the minutes that they voted against the recommendations).