Issue - meetings

The report of the Chief Executive is attached.

The Leader and Portfolio Holder for Strategic and Borough Wide Leadership, Councillor Robinson presented the report of the Chief Executive outlining the proposed electoral review of Rushcliffe.

Councillor Robinson informed Council that the review had been requested by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to address electoral inequality in certain wards across the Borough now and in the future.

Councillor Robinson highlighted the key parts of the report including the anticipated 18% growth across the Borough between 2020 and 2027, taking the average number of electors per Councillor from 2,058 to 2,509. He summarised the content of the main areas of the review document for Council including strategic leadership, accountability and community involvement, and thanked Councillors for participating in the review process. To ensure local democracy was protected despite the anticipated growth in the Borough, the review recommended an increase of two Councillors at an additional cost to the Council of approximately £11,000.

Councillor Gray reported that the Labour Group had taken part in the review and read the report with interest. They noted the substantial growth expected in the Borough and believed that two additional councillors would assist with the delivery of the additional workload.

Councillor Howitt welcomed the positive step the Council was proposing to ensure appropriate representation in areas that were predicted to grow in coming years.

Councillor R Mallender considered that the recommendation was reasonable given the predicted growth the Borough was expecting.

Councillor Thomas reported that she would have preferred to see no increase in Councillor numbers but was more interested in the next stage of the process where she hoped the opportunity to influence the drawing of ward boundaries that better respected community identity would be offered.

Councillor Edyvean welcomed the review and its recommendation which he felt struck the right balance between the number of Councillors and the representation of a growing community.

Councillor Robinson thanked Group Leaders and Councillors for their participation in this important piece of work.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    the Review of Council Size which proposes an increase in the number of councillors for Rushcliffe Borough Council to 46 Councillors is endorsed; and

b)    the Chief Executive should make arrangements for the Review to be sent to the Commission completing the first part of the review process.