Submission to Local Government Boundary Commission for England on ward boundaries for Sheffield Posted by botanic88 on Friday, March 21st 2014 Sheffield for Democracy is concerned with all aspects of how we are governed. Over this last year, we have campaigned on the need to regulate the lobbying of government; for Sheffield to commit itself to the next round of the Sustainable Communities Act; the election process for PCC; devolution to local government; the future and then replacement of community assemblies; the culture and structure of national politics and the need for a less centralised state; voting systems for local government. Our aspiration would be that the outcome of the current electoral review was seen to be fair, just and meet with a good degree of consensus. With financial pressures meaning the end of the previous arrangements for community assemblies to be staffed and serviced, the replacement of community assemblies shifts the emphasis onto councillors being involved in the establishment and functioning of ward forums. So our councillors will face additional tasks. It is clear that if they are to meet the many demands on them: to serve on Cabinet; to fulfil their vital role in the scrutiny process (both of cabinet decisions and cabinet members); to undertake case work; to working with the forums, we will need at least as many councillors as we currently have. Fewer councillors would mean they would not be able to carry out the range of duties expected of them; increasing the workload of councillors is likely to lower the standard of service the electorate might get. We have not always had 28 wards; previously it was 29. As a matter of principle, one aim should be that wards should be of similar size if they are to have the same number of councillors; expressed another way, there should be equal representation. However. there may be different ways of achieving this. We are very concerned about ward boundaries splitting established communities. A view we hold very strongly is that wards should reflect communities, and that boundaries should be constructed with more than just the arithmetic of population in mind. We should aim for a democratic system that engages all sectors of our city regardless of any individual’s or community’s ability to shout louder and more eloquently than others. We do not believe that having the same number of councillors in each ward is essential; maintaining the coherence and character of the community would be more important. This does not necessarily mean adhering to current boundaries. Our concern over this issue reflects the degree of dissatisfaction with the recent review of Parliamentary boundaries (since effectively abandoned) which rode roughshod over any idea of ending up with anything like a group of related communities – e.g. Hallam was to become an elongated constituency stretching from Fox House to parts of Barnsley which was quite incoherent. We do not want to see the same approach in the current review. Another issue of concern is how to measure the size of the electorate. If we simply look at the names and numbers on the current register it might look easy to redraw boundaries. But non-registration is more prevalent in some areas than others , for example higher level of non-registration where the population is very mobile. To ensure equal representation, this needs to be taken into account; the potential electorate should be estimated. Calculations should be based on the number of people eligible to be on the register, not just those who are registered. Individual registration is coming, which should, in the long term, improve registration; this should be an advance on the present system, but still doesn’t guarantee 100% cover. We have large student populations, and whilst students in official Halls of residence are commonly put on the register by the authorities, often students in private accommodation of which there is a great deal, may not all be registered. And sometimes, those students who do get onto the register remain there even after they have long since departed. It is of course not easy to keep track of these particular registrations, though we are aware that Sheffield Council does work hard at it. The Commissioners might wish to consider this. Vicky Seddon Coordinator Sheffield for Democracy
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 10:34:20 +0000
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