Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group Council size submission for the electoral review of Oldham Metropolitan Borough in 2020
1. The need for change
2. Reductions in workload
3. The impact of modern methods
4. Benefits of a reduction in councillors
5. Impact on the electoral cycle
6. Impact on council services
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1. The need for change
Oldham Borough has had 60 councillors since it was created in its present form in 1985. That was doubtless a fair assessment of effort required then. But that was a long time ago. In every job function of the council but this, numbers have been drastically reduced by automation, slimmed-down administration, centralisation, and budget cuts. The public and our workforce note with resentment that the councillors have refused to ‘share the pain’ of cuts. The Liberal Democrat group has been advocating a reduction to 40 councillors (42 if our ward resizing proposal is accepted) for a number of years, but it has been rejected, partly on the grounds that it would need to involve the Electoral Commission. With the Electoral Commission reassessing Oldham at present, we believe it could and should happen now.
2. Reductions in workload
The council has fewer functions and its budget has roughly halved in recent years. Its erstwhile biggest responsibility – schools and colleges – is mainly funded and controlled by central government. Housing is now under independent housing associations. Policing, transport, Fire and Rescue and strategic planning are sub-regional functions. There are roles on boards, but little involvement of rank and file councillors beyond governorships of individual schools. Democratic leadership of the council has moved from committees to the cabinet. Expertise and policy making reside with a small group who are paid like managers. The ordinary councillor is a non-specialist who does not make policy unless through their party structure. Committees are fewer than in the past. Only regulatory committees are little changed. Overview and scrutiny committees – the ‘voice of the ordinary councillor’– have more than halved in number and meet less often. Local forums – names and functions have varied but the community leadership role was similar – are all but abolished. Some councillors now have no committees at all save the full council meeting which itself meets less often. Much bread-and-butter casework has moved online and to self-service. Many members of the public find it more convenient to report the pothole, faulty street light or missed bin collection online than to involve a councillor. Most councillors still do surgeries but fewer constituents attend them nowadays. Councillors can pool the job and/or do fewer, so most spend less time dedicated to them.
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3. The impact of modern methods
There is not only less work to do, but the tools to do it have changed hugely. In 1985, councillors did not have computers, mobile phones, internet or, in many cases, their own car. The same work took far longer. The main difference now is that contact with the public is more easily managed. Modern methods of communication – eg email, websites, mobile phones and voicemail – predominate and make receipt and resolution of most casework far easier and quicker. There is much greater flexibility to manage work around other commitments and family life. Research can mainly be done online, at any time. A few wards have increased caseloads owing to growth in population, but that should be smoothed out in the review of wards. The caseload commitment depends very much on the councillor anyway. The best regularly seek out issues, opinions and emerging problems and opportunities pro- actively. Communication such as newsletters (paper and electronic), surveys, websites and doorstep visits can far outweigh reactive contacts. Others do what comes their way. It was ever thus, but it does show that many councillors do not find the basic caseload at all unmanageable.
4. Benefits of a reduction in councillors
Given all these factors, the Liberal Democrats consider that two councillors per ward can definitely cope with the modern caseload and the duties in the Civic Centre. There is an annual budget saving of hundreds of thousands of pounds from allowances, accommodation, equipment etc. There would also be a big saving from fewer elections. The borough’s residents and our staff would see it as a very fair and positive move.
5. Impact on the electoral cycle
Under present rules, the only option in a two-councillor model would be to have all-up elections every four years. In our view, this is a major downside, in that it would make the council far less responsive to residents. It would also mean the major issues of the borough were properly debated with the public once in four years instead of three years in four. The alternative of fewer three-member wards does not work within established townships, which have benefits in local loyalty and involvement. We therefore ask the Electoral Commission to consider pursuing a rule change. Specifically, two- member wards with elections for one councillor every two years. Contacts from other councils indicate that it would find a widespread welcome way beyond Oldham.
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6. Impact on council services
This would be negligible. With 21 wards, with two councillors in each, the representational ability of the council will not be reduced. The average councillor will have just under 6,000 constituents. As the number of council officers will not be reduced, the reduction in councillors will not affect how the council is administered and run. Council meetings would benefit. Many councillors do not get the opportunity to speak at full council due to a packed agenda, and rules and standing orders make it virtually impossible for those of smaller parties or no party to get a speaking slot in the time allocated. This has a significantly negative impact on the representative power of councillors from smaller parties and the opposition. The ability of council officers and councillors to find and complete casework in their communities will not be reduced. The members will simply have a slightly increased casework load, but this is balanced by fewer demands in other areas The officer support structure can be the same and the reduction in councillors will not impact that. Our proposals have no impact on cabinet size, committee size or officer structure. 42 Councillors are enough to vote and make the necessary decisions at full council meetings.
For further information please contact:
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE Leader of the Opposition on Oldham Council Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Oldham Council. Member for Shaw Ward. Member for East Ward Shaw & Crompton Parish Council.
Office: Room 338, Level 3, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham OL1 1UL.
T: 0161 770 4016 E: [email protected]
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Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group Ward sizing submission for the electoral review of Oldham Metropolitan Borough in 2020
1. Introduction to Oldham Council
2. Guiding principles the review
3. Population figures compared
4. Proposal for a new ward
5. Impact on the council
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1. Introduction to Oldham Council
The borough of Oldham was created in 1974, following the Local Government Act of 1972. It brought together the seven former council areas of Oldham, Failsworth, Chadderton, Crompton, Royton, Lees and Saddleworth. These vary a great deal in size and character, but all retain distinctive district centres and strong identities. The council took its present form in 1985, when it became a unitary authority, on separating from Greater Manchester County Council. It serves as the sole executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local policy, setting council tax, and allocating budget in the district. Oldham Metropolitan Borough has 20 electoral wards with a total of 60 councillors, three per electoral ward. It also has two parish councils. The parish councils are involved in planning, management of town and parish centres, community events and promoting tourism. Those parishes are in Saddleworth and Shaw & Crompton. The rest of Oldham Borough is unparished. It is from the seven original townships that most of the current electoral wards are formed. This was administratively convenient but has also proved advantageous for community strength and participation.
The Liberal Democrat group has believed for some time that the present number of councillors can no longer be justified. The case for a reduction is made in the separate paper Council size submission for the electoral review of Oldham Metropolitan Borough in 2020, which should be read in conjunction with this one. Suffice it to note here that it is relevant to the case for an extra ward
2. Guiding principles of the review
In the interests of fair representation, wards should be as even in population size as practicable; that is a given. The Liberal Democrats have been guided by the Electoral Commission’s document forecasting the impact of demographic trends across the borough over the coming years. Adjustment on these grounds is clearly necessary. Also, on this occasion, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) needs to be considered. It designates very large areas of land in Royton North, Royton South, Shaw and Crompton wards for strategic housing developments in the coming years. Other wards are also earmarked for significant development. GMSF is not finalized at present but the main thrust of it is backed by policy at local, sub-regional and national level. The practice of keeping wards, as far as possible, within the old township boundaries has served the borough well and we would adhere to that. Research has shown that loyalties and the sense of identity rest more strongly with the original areas than with
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Oldham as a borough. There is a dividend in community spirit and participation. That is arguably even more the case in the two areas with parish councils.
3. Population figures compared
Oldham Metropolitan Borough’s projected population by 2026 is 243,798.
The population divided into 20 wards is 12,190.
Alexandra, Medlock Vale, St Mary’s and Werneth Wards are considerably larger than the average, all with a projected population exceeding 15,000. Coldhurst and St Mary’s wards are also significantly above the average.
This compares with Royton North, the borough’s smallest ward, with a projected population of 8,945. Clearly, this is an imbalance in terms of representation in decision making and of the workload of councillors. It must be addressed.
Coldhurst and St Mary’s wards are also significantly above the average and worth including in the reassessment.
4. The need for a new ward
The excess size of the inner Oldham wards could, in theory be resolved by a crude distribution of polling districts towards the borough’s the outer wards. We reject that option because it breaks the principles of retaining township communities, and because it redistributes to areas which are themselves growing. The population projections do not take account of GMSF. Royton North and others near it are set to experience rapid population growth from housebuilding and will therefore move naturally to around the norm. Redistribution within the Oldham township boundary would give more even but still excessively sized wards. We therefore believe that the best solution is to create a new ward. The logical place is on the boundaries of Alexandra, Medlock Vale and Werneth wards, where they come together. Some further redistribution from Coldhurst and St Mary’s would give six wards of a more normal size. The appended map shows where this would happen. We suggest the name Freehold, after a district at the centre of that area. We considered an alternative solution of creating a town centre ward, but do not believe it would have any cohesion. Few people live in the commercial centre and, although there are ambitions for more residents there, it will be limited. It would risk a ‘doughnut’ of neighbourhoods whose natural links are elsewhere.
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5. Impact on the council
In our companion paper, Council size submission for the electoral review of Oldham Metropolitan Borough in 2020, we propose a reduction in the number of councillors from three per ward to two on the grounds that ward councillors’ workload has decreased markedly since 1985, when the borough took its present form. This extra ward therefore results in 42 councillors, down from 60. The 5% increase in electoral administration per election would be vastly outweighed by a 30% reduction in councillor costs and more from less frequent elections. Overall, the council would make a sizeable and much-needed financial saving. There would be no cost implications for township administration, as no township would change its overall boundary. We also believe the council’s reputation would benefit from increased fairness. Councillors and constituents of the affected wards would benefit from a fairer distribution of work.
Figure 1: recommended location for the new “Freehold” ward.
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For further information please contact:
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE Leader of the Opposition on Oldham Council Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Oldham Council. Member for Shaw Ward. Member for East Ward Shaw & Crompton Parish Council.
Office: Room 338, Level 3, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham OL1 1UL.
T: 0161 770 4016 E: [email protected]
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