Agenda item

Local Referendum on the Future of Local Government in Somerset

Meeting of District Executive, Friday 30th April 2021 11.00 am (Item 303.)

Decision:

RESOLVED:	That District Executive agreed:-
	a.	to hold a local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of South Somerset on the Electoral Register at 6^th May 2021 who are eligible to vote in local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset;
	b.	to conduct the local authority poll as a postal and online referendum and appoint Civica Electoral Services to conduct the poll;
	c.	the poll be held commencing on Tuesday 18th May 2021 and closing at 5.00PM on Friday 4th June 2021;
	d.	to hold the local authority poll jointly with such other Somerset Councils that agree and to share the costs of the poll with those councils;
	e.	the poll will follow the single non-transferable vote system and the question to be asked will be: “Which of the two options for change in local government in Somerset to replace the existing five councils do you support (select one only): i. *One council for Somerset* (“One Somerset” - the plan for a single council proposed by Somerset County Council) ii. *Two councils for Somerset: Eastern Somerset and Western Somerset* (“Stronger Somerset” the plan for two councils for Somerset – an Eastern and a Western Somerset council –proposed by the South Somerset District Council and the other district councils of Somerset)
	f.	to delegate the role of Counting Officer to Civica Electoral Services;
	g.	to make such resources, including staff resources, as necessary to the Counting Officer to enable the referendum to be conducted;
	h.	to delegate to the Chief Executive, the authority to take any further action necessary in relation to this matter;
	i.	to write to the Secretary of State to inform him of the referendum and its dates and ask that the result of the referendum be properly considered as part of the decision making process on the future of local government in Somerset;
	j.	to recommend Full Council to endorse the holding of a local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of South Somerset on the Electoral Register at 6^th May 2021 who are eligible to vote in local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset.
Reason:	To agree to hold a local poll (referendum) to give residents a voice in the debate and help the Secretary of State in understanding and determining the level of support amongst residents for each of the options for the future of local government in Somerset.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced the report and said that all the Council’s recognised there was a need to change local government in the county as it was not working as well as it should for local residents. The Secretary of State had invited proposals for change in September 2020 and the County Council had submitted one bid with the 4 District Councils submitting an alternative. The Government had made it clear that local support would be a key criteria in any decision on the future of local government in Somerset. The Government’s consultation had closed on 19^th April and they had written to invite comments to a number of stakeholder organisations, including some outside the county. The District Councils had felt a number of further key organisations should have been consulted but they were not. These included City, Town and Parish Councils and voluntary and community organisations. She urged the executive members to accept the recommendations.

During discussion, the following points were made:

· The purpose of SSDC was to ensure the views of the residents in South Somerset were properly represented in the consultation and the Secretary of State should take account of all the available information at the time he made his decision on the future of local government in Somerset.

· Letters from Robert Jenrick MP and Marcus Fysh MP had been recently circulated and should be read by Members.

· The poll must be clear that it was advisory.

· The Government consultation was poor and the poll would enable the views of all residents to be available to those taking the decision.

· The Government’s on-line consultation had been overly complicated to complete.

· A written response would be made by the Chairman to questions sent earlier from the Conservative Group of Councillors.

· The Government’s on-line consultation had been overly complicated and could have been completed anonymously multiple times by one person.

· Agree with Marcus Fysh MP’s emphasis on regeneration in the district.

· The poll would not involve the use of polling stations.

· The County Council had been invited to provide a leaflet on their One Somerset proposal to accompany the polling papers.

· It was not intended to weight the poll towards the Stronger Somerset proposal as that would not be democratic.

· The pre-paid envelope will be included with the polling papers so residents would not have to pay return postage.

· All residents should have the opportunity to participate in the poll and it represented good value for money.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said that during their discussions they had concern around GDPR and sharing the Council’s electoral register with Civica to enable poll and also the timing of the poll as it was after the Government’s consultation period. But overall they were positive that the public should be involved and any reputational risk was felt worth taking. They had also discussed the possible public response, clarification of costs, any risk assessment completed and the Wednesbury principles which were referred to.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman proposed the recommendations and they were seconded by the Vice-Chairman. A named vote was taken and they were unanimously agreed to be proposed to Full Council.

RESOLVED:	That District Executive agreed:-
	a.	to hold a local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of South Somerset on the Electoral Register at 6^th May 2021 who are eligible to vote in local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset;
	b.	to conduct the local authority poll as a postal and online referendum and appoint Civica Electoral Services to conduct the poll;
	c.	the poll be held commencing on Tuesday 18th May 2021 and closing at 5.00PM on Friday 4th June 2021;
	d.	to hold the local authority poll jointly with such other Somerset Councils that agree and to share the costs of the poll with those councils;
	e.	the poll will follow the single non-transferable vote system and the question to be asked will be: “Which of the two options for change in local government in Somerset to replace the existing five councils do you support (select one only): i. *One council for Somerset* (“One Somerset” - the plan for a single council proposed by Somerset County Council) ii. *Two councils for Somerset: Eastern Somerset and Western Somerset* (“Stronger Somerset” the plan for two councils for Somerset – an Eastern and a Western Somerset council –proposed by the South Somerset District Council and the other district councils of Somerset)
	f.	to delegate the role of Counting Officer to Civica Electoral Services;
	g.	to make such resources, including staff resources, as necessary to the Counting Officer to enable the referendum to be conducted;
	h.	to delegate to the Chief Executive, the authority to take any further action necessary in relation to this matter;
	i.	to write to the Secretary of State to inform him of the referendum and its dates and ask that the result of the referendum be properly considered as part of the decision making process on the future of local government in Somerset;
	j.	to recommend Full Council to endorse the holding of a local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of South Somerset on the Electoral Register at 6^th May 2021 who are eligible to vote in local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset.
Reason:	To agree to hold a local poll (referendum) to give residents a voice in the debate and help the Secretary of State in understanding and determining the level of support amongst residents for each of the options for the future of local government in Somerset.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

Supporting documents:

Agenda item

Local Referendum on the Future of Local Government in Somerset

Council and Democracy