20.—(1) A whole council election of councillors of West Suffolk Council is to be held on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2019 and in every fourth year thereafter.
(2) For the purposes of elections of councillors of West Suffolk Council—
(a)West Suffolk is to be divided into wards;
(b)the names of the new wards are those indicated in column 1 of the Table set out in the Schedule to this Order;
(c)the area of each new ward is to be the same as that of the ward or, as the case may be, the wards of the Relevant Councils as those wards existed on 31st March 2019, and as indicated in column 2 of that Table;
(d)each new ward is to return the number of councillors indicated in column 3 of that Table.
(3) At the 2019 election the returning officer shall be the proper officer appointed by the Relevant Councils (“the West Suffolk Council returning officer”).
(4) The West Suffolk Council returning officer must take such steps as are necessary or appropriate to prepare for the 2019 election, including the making of all necessary alterations in the electoral register.
(5) The total of the expenditure properly incurred by the West Suffolk Council returning officer before 1st April 2019 in relation to the holding of the 2019 election is to be divided among, and paid by, the Relevant Councils in such proportion as may be agreed between them; but, where the returning officer notifies the Secretary of State that there is not such agreement, the Secretary of State may—
(a)determine the proportion; or
(b)appoint an arbitrator for that purpose.
(6) The total of the expenditure properly incurred by the West Suffolk Council returning officer on and after 1st April 2019 in relation to the holding of the 2019 election is to be paid by the West Suffolk Council.
(7) In relation to the 2019 election, “the appropriate officer” in Parts 1 and 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1983(1) does not have the meaning given by section 67(7) of that Act but means the West Suffolk Council returning officer.
(8) All councillors elected in 2019 or any later year are to retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of elections of councillors in the year of retirement and the newly-elected councillors are to come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.