To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on 2 August 2012 (copy attached).

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on 2 August 2012 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest.

None.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

None.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

No petitions were received from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

No questions, statements or deputations were received from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

To consider the Boundary Commission for England’s revised proposals for the boundaries of those Parliamentary constituencies falling within the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Sub-Region of the Eastern Region.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services which set out the Boundary Commission for England’s revised proposals for the Parliamentary constituencies falling within the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Sub-Region of the Eastern Region and affecting Central Bedfordshire.

Members were aware that since the publication of the initial proposals in September 2011 there had been two consultation exercises.  It was noted that, as a result of the evidence presented, the Boundary Commission had decided to amend its initial proposals and permit an additional eight week period of consultation.  There would, however, be no further public hearings and no opportunity to comment on the representations of others.

The meeting of the General Purposes Committee had been called to consider the Boundary Commission’s revised proposals and make recommendations to the next meeting of Council on 29 November 2012; the closing date for representations to the Boundary Commission being 10 December 2012.  It was further noted that the Boundary Commission would make its final recommendations to the Government by no later than October 2013.  The Government would, in turn, present draft legislation to Parliament and the approved changes would be implemented in time for the next general election, currently scheduled to be held in May 2015.

The meeting was aware that that the Boundary Commission’s review was being undertaken within certain parameters that had been laid down by Parliament.  These included:

• A significant reduction in the number of constituencies in England with those in the Eastern Region being reduced by two to 56;

• A requirement that every constituency, apart from two specified exceptions, must have an electorate no smaller than 72,810 and no larger than 80,473;

• The use of electorate figures that were in the version of the electoral register published on the “review date”.  The “review date” was defined as the date two years and ten months before the review was required to report to the Government.  For the current, 2013, review this meant the use of electoral registers published on or before 1 December 2010 and that the former Bedfordshire County Council divisions were the building blocks of the proposed constituencies rather than the current wards.

Discussion took place on possible further representations to the Boundary Commission’s revised proposals.

A Member referred to the proposed North Bedfordshire constituency which would ring the town and constituency of Bedford.  As an alternative to this he suggested that a Bedford North constituency and a Bedford South constituency be introduced along a roughly east-west split based on the river Ouse.  Bedford North would take in that part of the town of Bedford and other communities north of the river Ouse whilst Bedford South would take in that part of the town, Kempston and those communities to the south of the river Ouse.  He stated that this would create two balanced communities with a blend of urban and rural.  Although some concern was expressed during discussion regarding the political advantage (or disadvantage) that could arise for political parties as a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.