Amendment of existing provisions about schemes for ordinary elections
Section 54: Amendment of existing provisions about schemes for ordinary elections
136.This section repeals sections 7(4) to (6) of the Local Government Act 1972. Those provisions allow a non-metropolitan district council to request that the Secretary of State change its scheme for elections by order.
137.As a consequence of the repeal, section 54 contains saving provision. This is to ensure that the repeal does not apply to any request made under section 7(4) until the Secretary of State has either decided not to make an order giving effect to that request or has made such an order.
138.Section 54 also repeals the powers of the Secretary of State to provide by order a scheme for partial-council elections for a principal council in England under section 86 of the Local Government Act 2000 and, in relation to London borough councils only, under section 8(2) of the 1972 Act.
139.Subsection (6) preserves any orders made under the repealed provisions and they are therefore unaffected by the repeal.
Chapter 2: Miscellaneous
Requests for single-member electoral areas in England
Section 55: Requests for single-member electoral areas
140.This section provides for principal councils that hold whole-council elections, to request that the Electoral Commission directs the Boundary Committee for England to conduct an electoral review of their area with the aim of introducing single-member electoral areas. If the Electoral Commission decides not to direct a review the section requires the Electoral Commission to provide local authorities with reasons for this decision. Subsection (6) ensures that the Boundary Committee are not obliged to respond to a request by recommending that all wards become single-member wards if, having regard to the factors listed in section 13(5)(a) to (c) of the 1992 Act, they consider it would be inappropriate to do so.
