DISTRICT COUNCIL

Meeting: Council

Date: 13 December 2011

Subject: Outcome of the Community Governance Review (CGR)

Report of: Director of People and Performance

Status: Public

1. Purpose of Report

1.1 This report provides information in respect of the Community Governance Reviews which were taken forward through statutory consultations for five of the District’s Local Councils and seeks approval for recommendations in following the consultation process.

2. Recommendations to Council

2.1 To approve the changes to corporate governance in respect of : a. Blaby Parish Council – reducing the number of parish councillors to from 18 to 16. The change to become effective at the time of the next ordinary elections in May 2015. b. Glenfield Parish Council – reducing the number of parish wards from six to two and the number of councillors from 21 to 16, with eight councillors in each ward. Both changes to become effective at the time of the next ordinary elections in May 2015.

c. Forest East Parish Council: – moving the shared boundary, with around 122 properties becoming part of Braunstone Town, rather than East (LFE). This change to become effective in April 2012.

d. Leicester Forest East Parish Council: Braunstone Town - the ‘adjusted parish tax base’ will be implemented as per the tax base paper presented to Cabinet on 28 November 2011.

e. Narborough Parish Council – reducing the number of parish councillors from 19 to 18. The change to become effective at the time of the next ordinary elections in May 2015. 3. Reason for Recommendation of these Decisions

3.1 The Council has listened to the views of local councils who requested these changes and members of the public who also responded. In making these recommendations, Council is fulfilling its statutory obligations under Part 4 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and certain aspects of the Local Government (Parishes and Parish Councils) (England) Regulations 2008.

4. Forward Plan

4.1 Forward Plan Reference Number: 10/11 (029).

5. Key Decision

5.1 This is a matter reserved for Council.

6. Matters for Consideration

6.1 Background

a. This process began in December 2010 when Council approved the draft Terms of Reference for the CGR which had been prepared in line with the formal guidance from the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government and the Electoral Commission, published in April 2008.

b. The first stage in the review was to consult with local councils and ask them to consider if they wished to participate in the CGR. Posters were also sent to all local councils for display on their notice boards promoting the CGR to enable members of the community to participate.

c. Four local councils confirmed that they wanted to make changes but as one review was for a shared boundary, the CGR comprised five councils.

d. In July 2011, Council approved a revised Terms of the Review and the start of the statutory consultation process for the five local councils.

6.2 Local Councils Participating in the CGR

e. The table below (and overleaf) shows the local councils for whom statutory consultations were undertaken and the proposals considered.

Local Council Proposals put forward for review

Blaby Parish Council Reduction in number of parish councillors from 18 to 16 – with ( 4947 electorate) 8 eight parish councillors in the North Ward and 10 in the South Ward.

Glenfield Reduction in parish wards from six wards to two wards to (7869 electorate) make it easier to manage the parish and improve clarity for residents without impacting on services. The new wards would mirror the District Wards of Ellis and Fairestone. Reduction in number of parish councillors from 21 to 16 – with eight parish councillors in each of the two wards.

Local Council Proposals put forward for review

Leicester Forest East Revise the boundary between Leicester Forest East and (5,286 electorate) Braunstone Town at the end of Park Drive. This covered 122 properties (not all of which are yet occupied) in Stackfield Braunstone Town Close, Garden Close, Field Close and part of Goodheart Way. (13,020 electorate) The proposed area of change can be seen on the map shown below. When the boundary was first drawn this area was open space, now the boundary runs through houses that are part of the estate.

Existing boundary line shown in blue

Revised boundary in red, showing the area to be integrated in to Braunstone Town

Narborough Reduction in the number of Councillors from 19 to 18, with (6,631 electorate) seven parish councillors in Pastures Ward and 11 in Narborough & Littlethorpe Ward.

f. The consultation process

The consultation process comprised:

• An official public notice in the Leicester Mercury publicising the consultation, which was put on display at Council and local council offices. • Publication of the Terms of Reference and distribution to the local councils. • Production of a leaflet for each individual review that covered the implications of the review and with information where other information could be found. These were distributed to all local councils. • For the LFE:Braunstone consultation, the leaflets were posted to each individual household that might be affected by the proposal. • Posters were produced for parish council notice boards to bring the consultation to the attention of the general public • Details were published on the Council website. • The consultation was also promoted through press releases which

received local media coverage and by use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. • Towards the end of the consultation reminders were issued to all parish councils asking them to consult and respond. g. Responses to the consultation

Local Council Area Responses received

Blaby A formal endorsement of the proposal was received from Blaby Parish Council. There was no opposition to the proposal.

Glenfield A formal endorsement of the proposal was received from Glenfield Parish Council. There was one letter from an individual against the proposal and two in favour.

Leicester Forest A formal endorsement of the proposal was received East from Braunstone Town at the end of the consultation. LFE had previously confirmed their commitment to the proposal.

Braunstone Town Four responses were received from residents who live in the areas affected by the proposal – three were against the proposal and one was in favour. In addition Cllr Ward sent a formal response saying he was against the proposal.

Narborough A formal endorsement of the proposal was received from Narborough Parish Council. There was no opposition to the proposal.

i. Proposed outcome from the CGR process

• Three of the recommendations entail a reduction in parish council seats and consideration was given to ensure levels of representation remain effective, even if there is considerable further housing in the parish areas between now and 2026. The regulations state that the minimum number of councillors on a parish council should not be less than five but there is no maximum number set. To illustrate that the reductions will not reduce the level of representations for members, the table below (prepared by the Aston Business School) shows the average number of councillors relative to the size of a local council’s electorate.

• For all three local councils, representation levels remain considerably higher than the average, and this would continue to be the case even should there be considerable more housing in the parish areas.

Electorate Councillor allocation Less than 500 5 – 8 501 – 2,500 6 – 12 2,501 – 10,000 9 – 16 10,001 – 20,000 12 - 27

• Blaby Parish Council (electorate 2,710) – reducing the number of parish councillors from 18 to 16. The change to become effective at the time of the next ordinary elections in May 2015.

• Glenfield Parish Council (electorate 4,221) – reducing the number of parish councillors from 21 to 16 and reducing the number of parish wards from six to two. The change to become effective at the time of the next ordinary elections in May 2015.

• Leicester Forest East Parish Council: Braunstone Town – moving the shared boundary with around 122 properties becoming part of Braunstone Town, rather than Leicester Forest East (LFE). The change to become effective in April 2012.

This has been brought forward to ensure that residents have a more relevant and effective level of representation to the community in which they are physically are part of.

• Narborough Parish Council (electorate 6,631) – reducing the number of parish councillors Narborough Parish Council – reducing the number of parish councillors from 19 to 18. The change to become effective at the time of the ordinary elections in May 2015

h. Consequential matters and actions

• The consequential matters arising relate only to the LFE and Braunstone boundary change. o There will be a small reduction in the precept for LFE and a corresponding increase for Braunstone Town. This may also have an impact on the level of Council Tax paid by residents in these properties, which was explained in the consultation leaflet. This was cited as a concern by one resident. This has been considered by the Council’s Finance Team through the process that sets the parish tax base and precept. On 28 November 2011, Cabinet approved the council tax base for 2012/13 with two options for the tax base for the parishes in appendix c of that report. If this report is accepted by Council, the adjusted parish tax base table will be implemented - this is attached as appendix 1.

o All households that are moving from the LFE parish area to the Thorpe Astley area of Braunstone Town will be informed of the change. Both parish councils will also be informed.

o The change will not impact upon the representation at parish council level for LFE.

o The level of representation for Braunstone at parish ward and level will be considered further.

• New boundary maps for LFE and Braunstone Town will be produced, together with a new ward map for Glenfield. A copy of these will be sent to the Director General of Ordnance Survey.

• A Reorganisation Order will be published for each review and Council will notify the relevant national bodies; including the Secretary of State for Communities and County Council.

7. Other Relevant Considerations

7.1 The following were considered by Council as part of the December 2010 report and there continues to be no issues arising in respect of:

o Human Rights Act 1998 o Legal Implications o Human Resources Implications o Risk Assessment & Business Continuity o Equalities o Nottingham Declaration and Climate Change o Crime & Disorder

8. Other Options Considered

The only other option would be not to implement the request for changes from the local councils but this would run contrary to the Council’s commitment to support local councils.

9. Appropriate Consultations

9.1 Leicestershire County Council (LCC) is a statutory consultee for any District CGR, and having considered the matter a formal response was received to say LCC had no comments on the proposals.

9.2 Elected members for the wards involved in the CGR were able to make their views known through the consultation phase and have a further chance to make their views known at Council.

10. Financial and Efficiency Implications

10.1 The largely electronic approach to the CGR was cost efficient and was accommodated within existing resources. The external costs for artwork and the formal public notice were £800.00. There will be a further cost to the council in April 2012 as the electoral register will need to be republished to incorporate the changed boundary for LFE and Braunstone.

11. Appendices to this report

11.1 Adjusted tax base paper

12. List of Background Papers

o Council Reports – July 2008, December 2010, April 2011, July 2011 o CGR guidance. o Blaby District Council - Terms of Reference for a Community Governance Reviews in 2011

The following Officers/Members have been consulted (identified by ):

Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) Monitoring Officer (Legal Services Manager) Cabinet Executive Portfolio Holder

APPENDIX 1

Extract from Council Tax Base paper submitted to Cabinet on 28 November 2011

Council Tax Base Summary 2012/13 Adjusted Assumes boundary between Leicester Forest East and Braunstone Town is adjusted i.e. Recommendation of Community Governance Review is accepted

Parish Parish Tax Base This Year Last Year Movement % Movement

Aston Flamville 71.43 75.04 -3.61 -4.81 Blaby 2,074.87 2,075.36 -0.49 -0.02 Braunstone Town 5,179.87 5,070.84 109.03 2.15 Cosby 1,157.56 1,155.40 2.16 0.19 2,300.52 2,215.33 85.19 3.85 Croft 566.26 565.06 1.20 0.21 221.72 220.99 0.73 0.33 Enderby 1,963.04 1,916.19 46.85 2.44 Glenfield 3,585.81 3,580.39 5.42 0.15 1,870.71 1,862.29 8.42 0.45 551.18 534.21 16.97 3.18 117.48 118.55 -1.07 -0.90 1,981.23 1,971.81 9.42 0.48 Leicester Forest East 2,157.77 2,236.24 -78.47 -3.51 16.14 16.79 -0.65 -3.87 Lubbesthorpe 28.07 27.98 0.09 0.32 Narborough 2,931.08 2,907.38 23.70 0.82 10.15 9.14 1.01 11.05 883.78 899.61 -15.83 -1.76 381.66 381.56 0.10 0.03 1,292.30 1,252.29 40.01 3.19 Thurlaston 298.04 293.08 4.96 1.69 Whetstone 2,074.73 2,079.14 -4.41 -0.21 18.19 17.88 0.31 1.73

Total 31,733.59 31,482.55 251.04 0.80