Evaluation of the electoral review process 2005-6
Our predecessor, the Boundary Committee for England, completed the last country-wide programme of electoral reviews in 2004. Following this, the Electoral Commission (the Boundary Committee’s parent body) conducted and evaluation of the programme. The conclusion of that evaluation was new guidance on the conduct of electoral reviews (PDF), and a revised approach to how we conduct them.
The evaluation
The Electoral Commission’s evaluation included:
- examining how the statutory criteria and rules have been applied
- considering the approach taken by the Electoral Commission and The Boundary Committee on matters such as numbers of councillors, consultation with interested parties in PERs, timetabling reviews, and warding
- considering when PERs should take place, including how frequently
- considering the evidence required to support proposals and decisions
- commissioning some research and analysis to inform its examination and
- seeking the views of a wide range of stakeholders between September and November 2005
The consultation paper
The Electoral Commission launched the electoral reviews consultation paper on 2 September 2005. The consultation paper addressed a wide range of electoral review issues and asked a number of questions aimed at improving the conduct of reviews. Results from the consultation are available and you can see the results from that consultation through this link.
Interim findings
On 3 July 2006, the Electoral Commission published its findings from the evaluation.
Proposals to the Minister for Communities and Local Government
On 11 May 2006, the Electoral Commission made proposals for legislative change to the Minister for Communities and Local Government. The proposals were part of the interim findings from the evaluation.
In addition to the consultation paper, the Electoral Commission conducted a number of other consultation activities. These included:
- attending conferences including major party conferences, NALC, AEA, SOLACE
- workshops for electoral administrators
- electorate forecasts workshop
- focus groups
- meetings with practitioner groups