Welsh Government wants ‘regular rhythm’ of boundary reviews

The Welsh Government has said that they want the boundaries of wards within Wales’ local authorities to be looked at every 10 years from now on.

They said that some boundaries had not been looked at for 25 years and that should never happen again.

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales have just completed one review of the 22 council areas and they are expected to be ratified by the government over the summer.

They submitted its final set of recommendations, for Monmouthshire, to the Welsh Government on 8 June.

The first set of final proposals, for Ceredigion and Gwynedd, were sent to the Welsh Government in mid-2018.

The Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans MS, stated that her aim is for all boundary changes to take effect for the 2022 Local Government elections.

According to her Written Statement: “A variety of factors have contributed to the current situation where some boundaries have not been reviewed for far too long and I do not want to wait another 25 years before changes are made again.

“I will, therefore, put in place a regular rhythm of reviews which requires that each local authority area is reviewed at least once every 10 years to ensure democratic representation is fair.”

‘Success’

Chief Executive of the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales, Shereen Williams, said she was “absolutely delighted” to have completed the boundary review within five years.

“The fact that this 10-year programme has been completed in five years despite the difficulties of working through a pandemic is a real testament to the hard work of the Commission’s staff and of course the Commissioners themselves,” she said.

“I’d like to personally thank everyone who has been involved in these reviews for the way they engaged in the process.

“The proposals we have sent to the Welsh Government have been strengthened by the brilliant engagement we’ve had from local communities, councillors, and wider local government partners.

“I’d also like to thank all our other stakeholders for the part they have played in making this programme such a success.

“We’re now looking forward to seeing the Welsh Government’s decisions as they are made.”

The recommendations made by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales will take effect if and when the Welsh Government makes Orders to that effect.

Any Orders may contain slight modifications to the recommendations.