The Boundary Committee for England is a statutory committee of the Electoral Commission, an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. The Committee’s aim is to conduct thorough, consultative and robust reviews of local government areas in England, and for its recommendations to be evidence-based, accurate and accepted.
The Committee’s responsibilities relate solely to local government boundaries: responsibility for parliamentary boundaries lies with the Boundary Commission, a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice.
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History/Establishment
On 1 April 2002 responsibility for electoral reviews in England transferred to the Electoral Commission. On the same day the Boundary Committee for England became a statutory committee of the Commission. The Committee undertakes electoral reviews and makes recommendations to the Commission as to whether electoral changes should be made in respect of the area under review. The Commission then decides whether to implement the Committee’s recommendations. The decision of the Commission is taken at a Commission meeting comprising the Electoral Commissioners as members.
The Boundary Committee for England replaced the Local Government Commission for England, which was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. The equivalent bodies operating in other parts of the United Kingdom are the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales, the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland and the Local Government Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland.
The protocol on the relationship between the Boundary Committee for England and the Electoral Commission sets out the roles and responsibilities of each body in terms of securing fair boundary arrangements for local elections in England.
Responsibilities and objectives
The Boundary Committee for England is responsible for three types of review: electoral reviews; administrative boundary reviews; and structural reviews.
Electoral Reviews
An electoral review considers whether the boundaries of wards or divisions within a local authority need to be altered to take account of changes in electorate. The Electoral Commission directs the Committee to undertake electoral reviews and is also responsible for implementing them. The Committee also looks at the number of councillors, the number of wards or divisions and whether the wards or divisions should be represented by a single councillor, or jointly by two or three councillors.
Administrative Boundary Reviews
At the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government or of a local authority, or at the Boundary Committee for England’s instigation, the Committee can undertake administrative boundary reviews, which review the external boundaries of a local authority.
Structural Reviews
A structural review is used to establish whether one or more single, all-purpose councils, known as unitary authorities, should be established in an area instead of the district and county councils of the existing two-tier system.
Organisation
Chair and Committee Members
- Max Caller CBE was appointed Chair of the Boundary Committee for England in 2007. He also serves as an Electoral Commissioner.
Current Boundary Committee members:
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- Jane Earl
- Joan Jones CBE
- Professor Colin Mellors
- Dr Peter Knight CBE DL
- The Director of the Boundary Committee for England is Archie Gall
LDEDC Bill – Proposed changes to Boundary Committee Structure
The Local Democratic, Economic Development and Construction (LDEDC) Bill was announced in the Queen’s speech on 3 December 2008 and introduced in the House of Lords on 4 December 2008. Part 3 of the Bill provides for a separation of the Boundary Committee for England from the Electoral Commission and its establishment as a separate body. It provides for the Electoral Commission no longer to have any involvement in electoral boundary matters. This reflects the recommendations of the Committee on Standards on Public Life (CSPL), which were supported by the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Committee.
External links
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