Extra councillors and more wards may be on way as boundaries move
IT IS CITY’S FIRST ELECTORAL REVIEW IN 20 YEARS
THE first electoral review of Derby City Council in 20 years could result in up to six additional councillors and a redrawing of some or all of the city’s wards.
The Local Government Boundary Commission has a duty to review local authority areas “from time to time” and the council has been asked to come up with a proposal for a suggested council size.
Currently, Derby has 17 wards with 51 councillors – three in each – but if the proposed council model gets the go-ahead the city could have up to 57 councillors across 19 wards, still retaining three for each one.
The submission to the commission, which is due to be ratified at next Wednesday’s full council meeting, is recommending that a council size of either 54 or 57 members is proposed.
An increase to 57 councillors would return the ratio of residents per councillor to the level previously set in 2001.
It would also represent an increase in the cost or savings in councillors’ allowances and the support services provided to elected members.
The current basic allowance for councillors is £11,523 per annum and six extra councillors would mean an extra £69,138, on top of the just over a £1 million it currently costs.
This went up from £876,349 after councillors voted for an increase, for the first time in 11 years, in basic allowances and special responsibility payments in July.
No increase in the number or level of special responsibility allowances is envisaged resulting from the proposed increase in councillor numbers.
The proposal for increased councillors is based on:
Anticipated population growth in Derby by 2043
Council size in relation to the city council’s closest comparable authorities where 56.5 councillors is average
Broad support for threecouncillor wards
Increasing volume and complexity of councillor casework
Ensuring sufficient appointments can be made to committees and outside bodies
And the changing role of the council
In the submission, the council has stated several points of principle which state that it will not support any reduction in the number of councillors or maintain the present number. But it would support “a small increase in the number of councillors” and it supports maintaining three members in each ward.
The review will take place in two stages. Initially, the commission will decide the total number of councillors they are proposing to represent residents in the city which will be published by the end of October. Then the commission will determine what ward pattern will best serve electoral equality for voters, protect local identity and ensure effective local government.
This will be subject to consultation from October 26 to January 3.
By mid-May, draft recommendations will come back to the city council for consideration and further public consultation will take place from about May 2022 through to August 2022.
At present there are three wards in the city where the criteria for electoral inequality apply based on the current number of electors in those wards.
In these cases, the variance from the average ratio of councillors to electors in the city is greater than 10%. In Alvaston and Chellaston it is 11% and in Arboretum 14%.
Derby currently has an estimated resident population of 256,800 – this has increased from 248,752 at the last census in 2011. Arboretum and Normanton wards have the highest resident population in recent estimates and are also the wards with the fastest growing populations.
The population of Derby is projected to increase to the region of 274,266 by 2043.
The submission to the commission has been prepared by council officers in consultation with its political group leaders and incorporates feedback from a survey of all councillors.
The council has been asked to put together its proposal for submission by October 5 and final recommendations from the commission will be made in November 2022,with an order expected to be laid in Parliament shortly afterwards and an anticipated implementation date of May 2023.
It is expected that a single all-out election for all wards and all councillors would then take place in May 2023 before the city returns to its usual thirds process, in which a third of the council comes up for election each year and the fourth year has no election.
City council chief executive Paul Simpson said: “We were informed over the summer that an electoral review would take place in the city for the first time in 20 years.
“This is not a quick process and we will continue to work with the Boundary Commission and councillors to find the appropriate solution for Derby over the coming year or so.”
This is not a quick process ... we will work with the Boundary Commission over the coming year or so. Paul Simpson