Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

Electoral areas in England

58 Metropolitan districts: councillors per ward

(1) Section 6 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) (term of office and retirement of councillors) is amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (2)(b) substitute—

“(b) every metropolitan district shall be divided into wards, each returning such number of councillors as may be provided as mentioned in subsection (3) below;”.

(3) For subsection (3) substitute—

“(3) The number of councillors referred to in subsection (2)(b) or (c) above may be provided—

(a) under or by virtue of the provisions of section 7 below;

(b) by an order under Part 2 of the Local Government Act 1992 (c. 19);

(c) by an order under section 14 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c. 29);

(d) by an order under Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.”

59 Change of name of electoral area

(1) A local authority may, by resolution, change the name of any of the authority’s electoral areas.

(2) A local authority must comply with subsections (3) to (5) in passing a resolution to change the name of an electoral area.

(3) The local authority must not pass the resolution unless it has taken reasonable steps to consult such persons as it considers appropriate on the proposed name.

(4) The resolution must be passed—

(a) at a meeting which is specially convened for the purpose of deciding the resolution with notice of the object, and

(b) by a majority of at least two thirds of the members voting on it.

(5) If the name of the electoral area is protected, the resolution may not be passed unless the Electoral Commission has first agreed to the proposed change.

(6) As soon as practicable after a resolution is passed, the local authority must give notice of the change of name to all of the following—

(a) the Electoral Commission;

(b) the Boundary Commission for England;

(c) the Office of National Statistics;

(d) the Director General of the Ordnance Survey;

(e) if the local authority is a county council, the district council (if any) within whose area the electoral area lies;

(f) if the local authority is a district council, the county council (if any) within whose area the electoral area lies.

(7) The change of name does not take effect until the Electoral Commission have been given notice of the change.

(8) For the purposes of this section the name of an electoral area is “protected” if—

(a) the name was given to the electoral area by or in pursuance of an order under section 17 of the Local Government Act 1992 (c. 19) or section 14 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c. 29), and

(b) that order was made during the period of five years ending with the day on which a resolution to change the name is to be passed.

(9) In subsection (4) the reference to the members of the council includes, in a case where the council are operating a mayor and cabinet executive, the elected mayor of the council.

(10) In this section—

• “electoral area”, in relation to a local authority, means any area for which councillors are elected to the authority;

• “local authority” means—

  (a)

  a county council in England;

  (b)

  a district council in England; or

  (c)

  a London borough council.