Electoral review
We are currently undergoing an electoral review which could change our electoral division boundaries and the number of councillors we have in Derbyshire.
The review aims to ensure each county councillor represents approximately the same number of electors and that there's the correct number of councillors to allow us to carry out all our functions.
The review is being carried out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE). The LGBCE is an independent body set up by Parliament to review electoral arrangements and administrative boundaries.
Analysis of the 2010 electorate data for Derbyshire shows that imbalances exist in the county which meet the LGBCE criteria for carrying out an electoral review to improve electoral equality. The analysis showed that 24 of the 64 divisions (38 per cent) had an electoral variance of greater than 10 per cent from the county average and one division, Hatton and Hilton, had an electoral variance of 39 per cent.
The review covers the entire county, not just the electoral divisions where there is evidence of electoral inequality, and consists of three phases:
Preliminary period − information gathering.
Stage one - council size i.e. proposals for the total number of councillors/electoral divisions.
Stage two − area definition i.e. proposals for revised boundaries and names of electoral divisions.
In August 2011 the Commission confirmed that, in line with the Council's own view, that they were minded to recommend retaining the Council's current size of 64 Members.
Cabinet approved proposals for the revised electoral division boundaries and names in November 2011 and these proposals were submitted to the Commission in December 2011. A copy of the County Council's proposals is available in the related documents section, below.
The Commission will produce a draft set of electoral division boundaries and names using the information provided by the council, as well as any other submissions received and their own analysis of proposed electoral divisions.
Once the proposed divisions are agreed by the Commission, they will be published on the Commission's website, as well as other media. The draft recommendations will be the subject of a formal 8-12 week public consultation period which is likely to start in April 2012.
Final recommendations will then be prepared and published by the Commission for a period of 8-10 weeks before laying down the order in the Houses of Parliament. The revised electoral divisions will be implemented in time for the next County Council elections in May 2013.
Further details about the review will be published here and information will also be available on the LGBCE website.
For further details please contact: Barbara Ackrill on 01629 538253 or email
Related documents
The following document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)