Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) providing an update on the progress regarding the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s (LGBCE) Electoral Review of Leeds City Council which includes details of the Council Size evidence and Electorate Forecast information for approval by Executive Board prior to submission to the LGBCE.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) submitted a report which provided the Board with an update on the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s (LGBCE) Electoral Review of the Council’s size and also of the number of Wards and Ward boundaries that the City Council has. In addition, the report presented the Council Size evidence and the Electorate Forecast information, as appended to the submitted report, for the purposes of approval by Executive Board prior to submission to the LGBCE.

Members welcomed the significant work which had been undertaken in the compilation of the comprehensive documentation. In considering this matter, the Board highlighted the crucial role played by Councillors, especially in the local Wards that they represent, and emphasised how this role would become even more integral, given the current projections of population growth across the city. A point which Members emphasised needed to be strongly conveyed to the Commission.

Alongside the submission, it was agreed by the Board that the Chief Executive write to LGBCE in order to reiterate from a Council officer perspective the critical role played by Ward Members in a city with the geographic scale and diversity of Leeds. 

In conclusion, the Board received an overview of the LGBCE’s timeframe regarding the undertaking of the review through to the implementation of any decisions made.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Council Size evidence and Electorate Forecast information, as detailed in the addendum to the submitted report, be approved;

(b)  That the Chief Executive write to the LGBCE highlighting from a Council officer perspective the critical role played by Ward Members in a city with the geographic scale and diversity of Leeds.