Elmbridge Borough Council Electoral Review – Council Size Submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England Elmbridge Borough Council Civic Centre High Street Esher Surrey KT10 9SD Any queries please contact: Ms B. Greenstein, Head of Executive & Member Services e-mail: [email protected] INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION Page 3 2. RATIONALE FOR ELECTORAL REVIEW Page 5 3. THE BOROUGH OF ELMBRIDGE Page 12 4. POLITICAL COMPOSITION AND WARD MEMBERS Page 18 5. GOVERNANCE AND DECISION MAKING Page 19 6. SCRUTINY FUNCTION Page 28 7. MEMBER DEVELOPMENT Page 33 8. THE WORKLOAD OF COUNCILLORS Page 45 9. SUBMISSION RECOMMENDATION Page 50 APPENDICES APPENDIX A Elmbridge Borough Council Election of Borough Councillors – 22 May 2014 Official Results of Poll APPENDIX B Electorate Breakdown per Ward APPENDIX C Political Composition of the Council APPENDIX D Elmbridge Borough Council’s Formal Decision Making Structure - 1 - APPENDIX E Responsibility for Cabinet Functions Exercised by Individual Cabinet Members as set out under Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions of the Council’s Constitution APPENDIX F Elmbridge Borough Council Schedule of Meetings 2014/15 APPENDIX G Record of Attendance of Councillors at meetings of the Council, Cabinet, Committees, Sub-Committees etc. during the 2013/14, 2012/13, 2011/12, 2010/11 and 2009/10 Municipal Years APPENDIX H The Council’s Senior Management Structure APPENDIX I Scheme of Officer Delegations as set out under Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions of the Council’s Constitution APPENDIX J List of the Outside Bodies to which the Council Appoints Nominative Representatives APPENDIX K Members' Allowances Scheme – 2014/15 APPENDIX L Overview & Scrutiny Protocol: Ancillary Groups APPENDIX M Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2014/15 APPENDIX N Minute Extracts from the Constitutional Review Member Working Group meetings held on 12 September 2013, 4 March 2014 and 10 September 2014 - 2 - 1. INTRODUCTION Elmbridge Borough Council made a formal application for an Electoral Review to be undertaken by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England within the Electoral Review Programme for 2014/15, in order to consider reducing the number of Members of the Council. This formal request was agreed at a Meeting of the Council on 10 April 2013. The related Minute extract is set out below: ‘RESOLVED that the Council’s request for an electoral review to be undertaken by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England be confirmed, in order to consider reducing the number of Members of the Council; and (a) a formal application be made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England for inclusion in the Electoral Review Programme for 2014/15, and that a business case be developed for submission, detailing the number of councillors that the Council considered to be appropriate; (b) it be noted that whilst the Local Government Boundary Commission for England had not yet formalised the Electoral Review Timetable for 2014/15, should the Council be accepted within this Programme, it would be likely that any outcomes would be implemented by way of the Council elections in May 2016; and (c) an Electoral Review Member Working Group be constituted with 7 Members (4 Conservative, 2 Residents’ Associations and 1 Liberal Democrat), in order to consider the development of the Council’s business case, for approval by the Cabinet prior to formal submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.’ The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has since confirmed that the Council has been formally included in its Electoral Review Programme for 2014/15. The Council constituted a cross party Electoral Review Member Working Group in order to consider the development of the Council’s Business Case, including detailing the number of councillors that the Council considers to be appropriate, for approval by Cabinet prior to formal submission to the Boundary Commission. The Working Group was constituted with 7 Members (4 Conservative, 2 Residents’ Associations and 1 Liberal Democrat). The Cabinet had previously suggested that a reduction in number from 60 to 48 councillors would be appropriate (Cabinet meeting held on 21 March 2012). This figure was considered to reflect the significant reduction in Council provided services as a result of changes such as the transfer of the Council’s highways responsibilities and housing stock and a reduction in the Council’s workforce over recent years. The - 3 - Council no longer owns a supply of housing, having undertaken a stock transfer to the Elmbridge Housing Trust in 2000. Representatives from the LGBCE met all Group Leaders and gave a presentation that was open to all Members of the Council on Monday 1 September 2014 at the Civic Centre to outline the review process and answer any questions from Members. The Council currently has 60 councillors who represent 22 wards across the Borough (population 131,500). Each ward is represented by either two or three councillors and each councillor is elected for a four-year term of office. The Council’s current electoral cycle has elections by thirds, whereby every three out of four years, a third of councillors stand for election / re-election. The Council has taken the opportunity to consider a possible move to whole council elections, which would enable greater flexibility of ward configuration in the future. If approved, the earliest date to hold whole council elections would be May 2016. Following a public consultation on the Council’s electoral cycle, a Special Meeting of the Council was held on Monday 17 November 2014 where the motion to adopt an electoral cycle of whole council elections every four years was not carried. Accordingly, the Council will retain the current arrangements of Borough Elections by thirds. In accordance with the Council’s resolution on 10 April 2013, this document was considered by the Cabinet on 19 November 2014 and recommended for approval to the Meeting of the Council on 3 December 2014 where, following a full debate and recorded vote of 33 votes in favour, 18 votes against and 5 abstentions, it was formally agreed as the Council’s Size Submission. Accordingly, the Council’s Size Submission is submitted to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England for consideration. - 4 - 2. RATIONALE FOR ELECTORAL REVIEW This submission sets out the Council’s proposal to seek a reduction in the number of Borough Councillors from 60 to 48, representing a reduction of 20%. In reaching this proposal, the following factors have been taken into account and supporting documentation is included in this submission: Changes to the Council’s service responsibilities Up until the year 2000, the Council was responsible for the direct provision of housing in the Borough before the housing stock was transferred to a social landlord. The Council spent approximately £18million on maintaining the houses and running the service (and collected broadly the same in rent and Government grants). Following the transfer of its housing stock in 2000, the Council’s related service responsibilities were significantly reduced although the Council maintains housing responsibilities such as maintaining the Housing Register, homelessness and affordable housing activities. This significant change in service responsibility has occurred since the last Electoral Review in 1999. The Council previously ran a ‘Direct Services Organisation’ for services such as refuse collection and since 1990, the refuse collection service has been externalised. In addition, the Council maintained the highways on behalf of Surrey County Council at a cost of approximately £3million (£2.5million of which was reimbursed by Surrey County Council). Since the year 2000, Surrey County Council has undertaken the provision of the Highways function. This significant change in service responsibility has occurred since the last Electoral Review in 1999. Whilst it is recognised that there have been some additional Council responsibilities, such as alcohol, gambling and Taxi licensing, there has been an overall reduction in the Council’s workforce since the year 2000, reflecting these changes in the Council’s service responsibilities. In 1999/2000 the Council employed 401 full time equivalent (FTE) staff. In 2003/04, the number of FTE staff was 360 and has further reduced to 320 FTE as at September 2014. (All three comparator figures do not include fixed term contracts, as historic data in this regard is not available.) The Council has sought to make the difficult decisions between competing priorities and to help mitigate the effects of cuts across the public sector whilst maintaining high quality service delivery for residents. The changing way in which residents access information and services Since the last Electoral Review in 1999, the Council has invested in ‘electronic’ government to enable residents to access services of the Council through its website and to communicate with the Council effectively by email / on line. This form of access - 5 - has dramatically increased in recent years where residents increasingly ‘self-serve’ from the website, reducing the need for individuals to approach Councillors directly. Clearly, Members continue to engage with residents in a variety of ways, including e- mail, websites, Member Web Pages and by way of social media. The Council has a shared integrated reception with Surrey County Council and Surrey Police. Telephone calls to the Authority are handled through an integrated customer