Agenda item

Under s100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chair of the meeting was of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances. These circumstances were because there were some amendments where the proposals cut through parkland (specifically the border between APK-B and APK-C and between WOD-A and WODB). The polling district boundary had been moved to the perimeter of the park. The red line was the original proposal and the green was the revised. Therefore the boundaries in this whole borough map should replace those shown on the individual polling scheme maps for these districts. This was a technical change and made no alteration to the electorate for either of the areas but required approval of the committee to be included in the polling scheme (Appendix 1b), as set out in Recommendation 1.

The Assistant Director Direct Services introduced the report which set out recommendations for each polling district and the associated polling place, including where feedback was received and any changes that were made as a result of the consultation phase.

It was explained that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) concluded in December 2019 and recommended that Haringey should continue to have 57 councillors, should have 21 wards rather than 19, and that all ward boundaries should change. This was enacted by Parliament. The Electoral Services Team was responsible for developing proposals to create polling districts for these new wards and to identify polling places within each district. It was noted that there had been input from a member working group and an officer working group. It was also noted that a public consultation had commenced on 31 August 2021, including an all-member briefing, and that this had resulted in some changes which were set out in the report.

It was added that, if approved, the polling districts would be uploaded to the council’s electoral register and would be operational for the council elections in 2022. It was highlighted that a full communications plan for the elections would make sure that people were informed about the location of their polling stations. It was noted that the proposals were due to be reviewed next year following the parliamentary boundary review which was due to report in 2023.

It was highlighted that a drawing which showed the new districts on a boroughwide map had been circulated as a late paper. It was noted that this drawing also showed locations where there had been minor boundary amendments to align with parkland boundaries. It was explained that this was a technical change which did not alter the electorate but that this needed to be approved by the Committee for inclusion in the polling scheme (Appendix 1b), as set out in the report recommendations.

It was noted that it was proposed to reduce the number of polling districts from 83 to 76 and it was enquired why there were some differences in the sizes of polling districts. The Assistant Director Direct Services explained that some polling districts were larger as they contained green spaces and that the review had tried to be consistent in the number of electors in each area.

It was commented that one polling station had been removed in Northumberland Park and that the electoral count would be 3,886. It was acknowledged that there had been two polling stations in this area that were very close to each other and that one polling station was being removed but it was noted that this was significantly larger than other areas. The Assistant Director Direct Services stated that the conditions had been checked to make sure that they were not excessive. It was accepted that some areas were larger but that the proposals took walking distance into account. The number of electors allocated to each polling place included those who opted for postal votes in each area. It was considered that the proposals would result in approximately even numbers across the borough.

Some members of the Committee expressed concerns about the close proximity of the polling stations in Noel Park ward, in particular St Mark’s Church, Noel Park Primary School, and Wood Green Library. It was commented that the road directions may seem simple but that this would be quite a distance for some residents. The Assistant Director Direct Services explained that the arrangements in Noel Park ward and the named polling stations had been considered in detail. It was acknowledged that there may be further developments in the area in the future but that, at present, it had not been possible to identify any suitable alternatives.

It was noted that it would have been useful for polling stations to be shown on the A3 map of polling districts. It was also noted that some electors would have to walk past another polling station in order to get to their polling station and it was enquired how this would be addressed. The Assistant Director Direct Services noted that there was an aim for all polling stations to be within a walking distance of 12-15 minutes for all residents, based on information on the Transport for London website. It was acknowledged that this was sometimes challenging, particularly near ward boundaries, and that there were often limited venues that were suitable or available as polling places. It was added that the communications plan for the new polling districts and polling places would involve sending out maps and clearly informing residents of their polling places. It was added that the member working group would continue up until the pre-election period to ensure that the communications plan was as effective as possible.

Some members of the Committee noted that the recommendation in the report proposed that delegated authority be given to the Returning Officer to amend the polling scheme and it was asked whether this could be in conjunction with local councillors. The Assistant Director Direct Services explained that, if something was identified in advance, local councillors would be consulted but that there may be occasions where the Returning Officer would have to make a rapid decision and such consultation would either be impractical or inappropriate close to the election itself. It was therefore requested that the recommendation remained as proposed.

RESOLVED

1.    To approve the polling scheme describing the polling districts and the polling places for the new 21 wards of Haringey as set out in Appendix 1a & b and Appendix 4.

2.    To delegate authority to the (Acting) Returning Officer (ARO) and the Deputy (Acting) Returning Officers to amend the polling scheme where the names of buildings change and for specific elections where strictly necessary for a particular election, including changing polling places.

3.    To agree that minor errors in transferring the maps in Appendix 1a & b and Appendix 4 into the electoral registration software can be corrected with Acting Returning Officer (ARO) approval.