Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Resources

Further to Minute 69 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Executive Director of Resources which detailed the City Council’s response to a consultation on the Boundary Commission for England review of Parliamentary constituency boundaries.

In September 2016, the Boundary Commission for England published initial proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries and is consulting on these until Monday 5 December 2016. These proposals would make changes to two of Coventry’s three parliamentary constituencies, including combining two Solihull Borough wards with wards in Coventry to create a new constituency called Coventry West and Meriden.

The review of Parliamentary constituency boundaries was being undertaken following the Government’s decision to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies across the UK from 650 to 600 and equalise the number of electors in each constituency.

The Boundary Commission for England (BCE), an independent and impartial non-departmental public body, periodically reviewed all the Parliamentary constituencies in England. It was currently conducting a review on the basis of rules set by Parliament in 2011 under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (The Act). They involved a significant reduction in the number of constituencies in England (from 533 to 501) and required that constituencies, apart from two specified exceptions, had an electorate that was no smaller than 71,031 and no larger than 78,507. The West Midlands has been allocated 53 constituencies, a reductions of six from the current number.

At the conclusion of its review, the BCE would be required to make a formal report to the Government during September 2018, recommending any changes that it believed were appropriate to the distribution, size, shape, name or designation of constituencies in England. The recommendations of the BCE would be turned into draft legislation and submitted to Parliament for approval, if approved, the recommended changes would be implemented for the next General Election after the date on which the legislation was passed. 

RESOLVED that the City Council’s response to the consultation set out at Appendix 1 of the report together with the following additional paragraph, be endorsed.

“Furthermore, this reduction in Members adds to the growing democratic deficit which is already significant. This will be compounded when repatriation of powers from the European Union to the UK takes place. This will also be accompanied by a further reduction in elected representatives at a time when legislation will require even greater scrutiny.”

NOTE: In accordance with the Constitution, a recorded vote was required.

  The Councillors voting for and against the Recommendations were

  as follows:-

Result:  34 for

  13 against

  0 abstentions