Agenda item

The Chief Executive and Returning Officer, John Hooton, the Head of Electoral Services, John Bailey, and the Assistant Director Assurance, Emily Bowler, introduced the report which outlined the final proposals from the Returning Officer for new polling districts and their respective polling places to serve at local elections within the new wards.

The Head of Elections notified the Committee that following late representations received in relation to some of the proposals, officers wished to remove the published addendum paper and amend recommendation 1 of the report on behalf of the Returning Officer to the following:

-       That the Committee approves the Returning Officers proposed polling arrangements from May 2022, detailed within appendices 1-26, except for the following four wards; Barnet Vale, High Barnet, Garden Suburb and Whetstone, as representations have been made against the Returning Officers proposed polling arrangements in these wards since the publication of the committee papers and the final Ward polling arrangements being made public. It is therefore proposed that officers consult with existing Ward Members and the party groups and bring back alternate proposals to either this Committee, the next Full Council meeting or an Urgency Committee.

The Head of Elections explained that this recommendation would allow the representations on these four wards to be fully reviewed by the political groups.

A Member questioned whether a school was able to exempt itself from being a polling station by adopting a certain safeguarding policy. The Head of Elections explained that the Committee selects the polling places and districts and when a school is chosen, this constitutes a legal designation, and the Returning Officer then has the right to use that school for an election. However, the school retains the decision on whether the school will remain open for students or closes for the day.

A Member questioned whether delaying the proposals would effect being able to meet the necessary deadlines. The Executive Director of Assurance, Clair Green, confirmed that officers were confident these proposals would be agreed within the timescales.

A Member asked for clarification on the legal governance around decision making of polling places. The Head of Elections explained that the polling district boundaries and the polling places were a Council decision, which had been delegated to the Constitution and General Purposes Committee. However, the Returning Officer had the right to decide on the polling stations within the designated polling place.

Following discussion on the item, the Committee moved to vote on the amended officers recommendation.

It was unanimously RESOLVED that the Committee approves the Returning Officers proposed polling arrangements from May 2022, detailed within appendices 1-26, except for the following four wards; Barnet Vale, High Barnet, Garden Suburb and Whetstone, as representations have been made against the RO’s proposed polling arrangements in these wards since the publication of the Committee papers and the final Ward polling arrangements being made public. It is therefore proposed that officers consult with existing Ward Members and the party groups and bring back alternate proposals to either this Committee, the next Full Council meeting or an Urgency Committee.