Clause 38
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
11:30 am
Angela Smith (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Basildon, Labour)
I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s contribution. I accept that names are important—that is the reason why the clause has been proposed.
I may have to disappoint the hon. Gentleman, because after the next general election the constituency of Basildon will be no more—it will become South Basildon and East Thurrock, and will be divided in two. So totemic election-night tears and joy around the country will be lost, although I am sure that another constituency will take on Basildon’s mantle.
I can give the hon. Gentleman some reassurance, however. Currently, the names of electoral areas—county divisions and wards in district councils—can be changed only on an electoral review by the Electoral Commission’s boundary committee. However, local authorities can change the names of their areas. They can change the name of the council, but not of wards, under section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972. That Act allows a district or county council to change its name by a resolution passed by two thirds of council members at a specially convened meeting of the council. That a local authority can resolve to change the name of its area but not of its wards seems to us a little daft. It can also change names of parishes, but not wards, if a parish council requests it. We believe that local authorities should be able to change the names of their wards.
Another point to consider is that there is no set timetable for when the electoral review takes place. Reviews can be between 10 and 15 years apart in some areas, which can result in the names of district wards or county divisions being out of step with real-world conditions. For example, a new development built in a ward may mean that the ward would be better identified by including the new settlement in its name.
There may be occasions when a local authority wishes to resolve issues arising from a ward name with which a community can no longer identify. In such a case the clause will allow a county council, district council or London borough council to change the name of the electoral area concerned. Any change would need to be agreed by the full council, which would need to pass a resolution at a special meeting held for the purpose. The council would then have to inform interested bodies including the Electoral Commission, the Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey.
It is worth considering the clause in connection with the previous clause. We are trying to ensure that local authority and ward boundaries reflect the communities there. The point made under the previous clause about two, three or one-member wards, alongside name changes, enhances the identity that the individual elector—[Interruption.] I hope that that is not for me.