Chapter 1: Arrangements for Local Government
Section 40 – Considerations for a review of principal area electoral arrangements
108.Section 40 substitutes section 30(1) of the 2013 Act and sets out revised considerations for a review of principal area electoral arrangements. The matters which must be considered include the desirability of having a ratio of local government electors to the number of members that is the same or as similar as possible in every electoral ward of the principal area, the geographical size, shape and accessibility of an electoral ward and maintaining local ties including those connected to the use of the Welsh language.
Section 41 - Review period for principal area reviews
109.Section 41 amends section 29 of the 2013 Act by changing the length of the cycle of reviews of electoral arrangements for principal areas from 10 to 12 years and resetting the start date for the cycles as 30 September 2023. The amendment also enables the Welsh Ministers to amend both the length of the cycle and the re-set date by regulations.
Section 42 – Review of seaward boundaries
110.Section 42 amends section 28 of the 2013 Act to clarify that the Commission is able to review the seaward boundaries of more than one local government area when it is conducting a review under section 28.
Section 43 – Electoral review recommendations and decisions: duty to have regard to representations
111.Section 43 amends section 37 of the 2013 Act to clarify that the Welsh Ministers cannot implement any recommendation or decide to take no action on recommendations in relation to an electoral review until a minimum of six weeks have elapsed beginning with the day on which the Welsh Ministers receive the review recommendations. Also, when the Welsh Ministers are considering a final report of an electoral arrangements review, they must have regard to any representations made to them during the six week ‘representation’ period.
112.This section also makes similar amendments to sections 38 and 39 of the 2013 Act in relation to the functions exercised by the Commission in respect of reports on community boundary changes and functions exercised by county or county borough councils in respect of community electoral arrangements.
Section 44 – Names of electoral wards
113.Section 44 requires the Commission and county or county borough council to consider the naming of electoral wards as part of its pre-review consultation procedure.
114.It inserts section 36A into the 2013 Act which requires the Commission and county or county borough councils (as the case may be) to, in the case of electoral wards that have different names for the purposes of identifying the wards in communication through Welsh and English, specify the Welsh and English language names or proposed names of the electoral wards in both the Welsh and English language versions of their draft and further review reports.
115.Regard must be taken of representations made by the Welsh Language Commissioner as to the orthography of electoral ward names, which may include monolingual electoral ward names.
Section 45 – Consultation on reviews
116.Section 45 amends section 34 of the 2013 Act to require the Commission, or as the case may be, a county or county borough council before conducting a review, to bring that review to the attention of members of the public affected by the review.
117.It makes similar amendments to section 35 of the 2013 Act to require the Commission, or as the case may be, a county or county borough council to consult members of the public affected by the review when conducting a review. The Commission or county or county borough council must publicise the fact that representations may be made during the public consultation period and indicate when the public consultation period begins and ends. This section also amends section 36 of the 2013 Act to refer back to the ‘public consultation period’ defined in section 35(4) of the 2013 Act.
Section 46 – Meaning of “mandatory consultees” in Part 3 of the 2013 Act
118.Section 46 amends section 34(3) of the 2013 Act by adding National Park authorities, Port Health authorities and the Welsh Language Commissioner to the list of bodies that must be consulted in relation to a review under Part 3 of the 2013 Act.
Section 47 – Electoral review recommendations and decisions: period before a local election
119.Section 47 amends section 29(8) of the 2013 Act to change the period during which the Commission must not make or publish any recommendations relating to the electoral arrangements of a county or county borough council from 9 to 12 months.
120.It also amends section 37 of the 2013 Act to prohibit the Welsh Ministers from exercising their functions under section 37(1) in the six months preceding an ordinary local government election (this is the election to all seats in all councils held once every five years).
Section 48 – Deadline for completion of reviews
121.Section 48 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of a new section 36B. This requires the Commission or a county or county borough council (as the case may be) to publish a statement specifying the day on which a review begins and requires the Commission or a county or county borough council to use its best endeavours to publish its further reports within the deadlines as specified. Failure to meet the timetable does not invalidate the review. The timetable for reviews of principal area boundaries, preserved counties and electoral arrangements for a principal area should be no more than 12 months in length, the timetable for reviews of seaward boundaries should be no more than 18 months in length and for community boundary reviews and community electoral arrangements reviews it should be no more than 24 months in length
Section 49 – Deadline for the completion of implementation
122.Section 49 amends section 37 of the 2013 Act by requiring the Welsh Ministers to use their best endeavours to make a decision on each review recommendation they receive under section 37(1) of the 2013 Act within three months of receipt of the recommendations. The Welsh Ministers must also publish a statement setting out their decision in respect of each recommendation. The date of the publication of the statement is to be treated as the date of the decision. Failure to comply with this duty does not invalidate any order or decision.
123.Sections 38 and 39 of the 2013 Act are amended to place a similar duty on the Commission in relation to its decision making on the recommendations it receives from county or county borough councils in respect of community boundary changes and on county or county borough councils in respect of community electoral arrangements.
Section 50 – Directions to pause reviews
124.Section 50 amends section 48 of the 2013 Act to enable the Welsh Ministers to issue a direction to pause a review being conducted under Part 3 of the 2013 Act. The Welsh Ministers must not use this power to pause a review for a period greater than 9 months in total. When a review is paused, the period of the pause is not to be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the length of periods under section 36B(2) to (5).
Section 51 – Community reviews and implementation
125.Section 51 amends section 22 of the 2013 Act to require county or county borough councils to publish an annual report by no later than 1 July each year on the performance of its functions under Part 3 of the 2013 Act and section 76 of the Local Government Act 1972. This report should explain the performance of its functions so far as the functions relate to community names, community boundary changes, community council changes and community electoral arrangements during the year. A copy of the report must be sent to the Commission and the Welsh Ministers.
126.This section also amends section 31 of the 2013 Act to clarify the duty of a county or county borough council to conduct a review of the electoral arrangements for each community in its area at least once in every review period (12 years). The Welsh Ministers may make regulations to amend the length and start date of the review period.
127.This section also amends section 33(3) of the 2013 Act to require that county or county borough councils take account of special geographical considerations, in particular, the size, shape and accessibility of a community ward together with any local ties connected to the use of the Welsh language when conducting a review of community electoral arrangements.
Section 52 – Notice of resolutions of status of communities as towns
128.Section 52 amends section 245B of the Local Government Act 1972 to require a community council to give electronic notice of any resolution it passes under section 245B(1) or (6) (community to have the status, or to cease to have the status, of a town) to the Welsh Ministers, the relevant county or county borough council and the Commission.
Section 53 – Publication of orders under Part 3 of the 2013 Act
129.Section 53 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of section 49ZA. This requires county or county borough councils and the Commission to publish on their websites copies of all the orders they make under Part 3 of the 2013 Act and also those that are made by other bodies able to make orders under the same Part. In the case of the latter, county or county borough councils are required only to publish those orders that are relevant to their area.
130.The section also requires whichever body has made an order under Part 3 of the 2013 Act to send a copy of that order to, or to notify the other bodies that are able to make orders under Part 3, of the making of that order.
131.This requirement applies only to orders made after the coming into force of section 49ZA.
Section 54 – Publication of up-to-date lists of communities and community councils
132.Section 54 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of section 49ZB. This requires each county or county borough council to publish and maintain on its website an up-to-date list of all the communities and community councils in its area with their current names. It also requires the Commission to do the same for all of the communities and community councils in Wales. In respect of communities and community councils that have names for the purpose of communication through Welsh and English, the list should show both the Welsh and English language names regardless of whether the list is accessed via the Welsh or English language.
Section 55 – Transitional provision
133.Section 55 enables any review conducted under Part 3 of the 2013 Act being conducted when Chapter 1 comes into force to be completed under the arrangements that applied when the review was commenced. It also ensures that Part 3 of the 2013 Act and all orders and regulations made under that Part prior to Chapter 1 coming into force continue in effect for the purposes of such reviews.
