Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

The minutes from the meetings held on 21^st October and 18^th December 2025 were submitted for Members’ approval.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the Electoral Matters Committee meetings held on 21st October 2025 and 18th December 2025 be approved as a true and accurate record.

The covering report and Appendix 1 to the report are attached in this agenda pack.  Appendix 2 to the report will follow in a supplementary pack.

The Electoral Services Manager presented a report regarding proposed changes for future wards within the Redditch electoral area.

Members were advised that the original interim plan Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) submission to Government had stated that the existing County Council divisions could be retained, with the number of elected members simply being doubled for each ward. Since that submission had been made, it had been confirmed that Worcestershire would be divided into two unitary authorities, with Redditch forming part of the proposed North Worcestershire unitary authority comprising fifty-four members.

It was explained that, in the rest of the county, the existing County Council divisions were represented by a single member and therefore doubling representation would result in two-member wards. In Redditch, however, the current County Council divisions were already represented by two members and, if the original approach/interim plan were retained, this would result in four-member wards.

Members were informed that four-member wards would present a number of challenges, particularly when conducting elections. It was noted that such arrangements could dilute accountability and reduce clarity of representation for electors. Whilst four-member wards were legally permissible, officers advised that they were not aware of councils with such wards in England. Furthermore, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England generally recommended a maximum of three members per ward, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was following this guidance when developing arrangements for new unitary authorities.

Officers reported that discussions had taken place with MHCLG regarding alternative warding arrangements. MHCLG had advised that any different arrangements should use existing electoral areas, such as current District or Borough wards, parish areas or county electoral divisions. As Redditch contained only one parish, Feckenham Parish, officers considered the use of the existing Borough Council ward boundaries to be the most practical and sensible approach.

The Committee was advised that it was important to have regard to the existing proposal of sixteen members for Redditch as an important principle.

A detailed analysis had subsequently been undertaken to identify warding arrangements that would retain sixteen members for Redditch. Officers advised that the only viable arrangement identified comprised seven wards in total, consisting of five two-member wards and two three-member wards. Whilst testing various scenarios, it had been noted that electoral variances increased under the proposed arrangements. However, MHCLG had indicated that a greater degree of electoral variance would be acceptable as an interim arrangement where necessary to achieve the best overall outcome.

Members were informed that the proposed seven-ward model had been considered by the Informal Working Group on LGR in Worcestershire on 1st July 2026, where it had received support. The proposal had also been considered at a meeting of Redditch Borough Council Group Leaders on 2nd July 2026, who had agreed that the matter should be referred to the Electoral Matters Committee and subsequently to Council on 10th August 2026. The Committee noted that the timescale for consideration was limited due to MHCLG requiring comments to be submitted by 17th August 2026,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

There was no urgent business on this occasion.