Guidance
We currently publish guidance on the conduct of electoral reviews, principle area boundary reviews and community governance reviews, which are available through the links below.
Guidance for current electoral reviews
- Electoral reviews: technical guidance (PDF)- Reviews of the internal electoral arrangements of local authorities: the number of councillors, names, number and boundaries of wards and electoral divisions. Electoral reviews are initiated primarily to improve electoral equality but can also be carried out by request, for example, to address council size (the total number of councillors elected to a local authority) or provide for single-member wards or divisions.
Guidance for principal area boundary reviews (PABR's)
- PABR: technical guidance (PDF) - Reviews of the external boundaries of local authorities, intended to reflect community identities and to promote effective and convenient and effective local government. Reviews of this nature range from addressing minor boundary anomalies that hinder effective service delivery but affect only a few electors to whole-council mergers.
Guidance for community governance reviews
Local authorities conducting, or considering conducting, a community governance review should refer to our joint guidance with the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Guidance for electoral reviews which began before May 2011
We have produced two different documents to support people where there is an electoral review being conducted in their area:
- Electoral reviews: what they are and how you can get involved (PDF) provides straightforward information for members of the public who want to get involved in the review.
- Electoral reviews: technical guidance (PDF) contains more detailed guidance on the review process and includes details of the legislation under which reviews are conducted.