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)
Thank you. The individual elector will therefore be able to have a relationship with their own electoral ward.
The hon. Member for Poole asked about protected areas. If the Electoral Commission has given the name within the past five years, it is protected, but if in the protected period the commission agrees to the name change proposed by the council, it can then happen. I am sure that when that appears in Hansard it will make great sense. The commission’s power to amend the names of local authority electoral areas will remain unaffected, so when a council proposes to change an electoral area within five years of a change made by the commission, the council must seek the commission’s approval. With such permission it can override the protection.