Agenda item

The Committee considered a report presented by the Electoral Services Manager which provided details of a consultation that was being carried out by the Boundary Commission for England on initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries for England in 2023, using data from the Parliamentary Electorate as of the 2nd March 2020.

The Boundary Commission was currently conducting an independent review of all Parliamentary constituencies boundaries based on new rules approved by Parliament in 2020.  The Commission was required to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency is more equal; in doing so, the number of constituencies in England would increase from 533 to 543. Accordingly, it was recommended that constituency would be based on an electorate no smaller than 69,724 and no larger than 77,062.

It was noted that the proposals if agreed, would mean that Doncaster would still have three constituencies, however, the names of those constituencies; Don Valley, Doncaster Central and Doncaster North would change and one constituency would no longer only contain Doncaster wards.

Doncaster would take on three wards from the North Lincolnshire, Axholme Central, North and South constituencies, with three wards having a Doncaster Constituency/MP covering this area. Doncaster would receive ballot papers from North Lincolnshire for the three wards when a parliamentary election takes place. North Lincolnshire Council would have responsibility of verifying both postal votes and polling station ballot papers before delivering them to Doncaster’s (Acting) Returning Officer. It was noted that this would likely cause time implications for the counting of votes and declaration of results, due to the length of time it may take North Lincolnshire Council to verify and then transport those ballot papers from their Count venue to Doncaster.

Two wards currently within Doncaster, Conisbrough and Edlington & Warmsworth wards with a combined electorate of 20,565, would be given to a Rotherham constituency and have a Rotherham MP. Therefore, Doncaster would provide ballot papers to Rotherham Council from these wards when a parliamentary election takes place.  Doncaster would have responsibility to verify both Postal Vote and Polling Station ballot papers before delivering them to Rotherham’s (Acting) Returning Officer.

The Electoral Services Manager made reference to some of the logistical challenges that the proposed changes would bring for Doncaster.

A breakdown of the proposals of the 3 Doncaster constituencies and Rotherham Council’s constituency to include two Doncaster wards, were detailed at Paragraphs 14 to 17 of the report.

It was noted that information on the full review of all parliamentary constituencies in England was available on the Boundary Commissions website.   Consultation on the initial proposals had commenced on 8th June, 2021 and would end on 2nd August, 2021.  The public was invited to make representations and to feedback on the proposed boundaries on the Boundary Commissions online portal. All responses would be considered by the Boundary Commission. This would be followed by a further consultation later on in the year. Members were encouraged to submit any comments on the proposals.

The Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services advised that the Council’s Returning Officer would provide a response to the proposals in relation to operational issues such as the receipt of ballot papers from North Lincolnshire Council and the sending of ballot papers to Rotherham Council. The Monitoring Officer highlighted that non-coterminous constituency boundaries were not exclusive to Doncaster Council and existed across other authorities.

During discussion on this issue, a range of views were expressed by Members, with some being opposed to the proposals, whilst others in support. In light of this, it was proposed that it would not be feasible to make a representation on behalf of the Committee regarding the proposals.  In noting the diverse views expressed by the Committee, it was considered more appropriate for representations to be made by political groups, or Members on an individual basis.

Arising from a question from a Member seeking clarity regarding the verification of ballot papers being carried out by another authority, it was noted that it was common practice for other authorities across the country to verify the votes of another authority.  It was explained that there may be implications for Doncaster in relation to the counting of votes and declaration of results due to the length of time taken by another authority to verify the ballot papers and then transport them to Doncaster.

RESOLVED to that the report on the 2023 Parliamentary Boundary Review be noted.