Agenda item

This matter is the responsibility of the Leader of the Council, Cllr Smith-Roberts.

During the discussion, the following points were made:-

·       Councillors welcomed the choice a Poll would give on behalf of the local residents.

·       Concern was raised on the wording used on the ballot paper.

·       Councillor Palmer proposed an amendment to the wording on the ballot paper: 2.3 d) a) One council for Somerset (the plan for a single council proposed by Somerset County Council. 2.3 d) b) One council for Eastern Somerset and one council for Western Somerset (proposed by Somerset West and Taunton Council and the other district councils for Somerset.  This was duly seconded by Councillor Bolton.

·       Councillors agreed that the wording was confusing but raised concern as the ballot had been agreed by all four councils and queried whether we could request an amendment.

·       Councillors queried whether some narrative would be sent along with the ballot papers.

The Director of Internal Operations confirmed that a leaflet with a summary of both proposals would be included with the ballot paper.

·       Councillors were not happy that the third option of ‘No Unitary Authority’ had not been included.  However, they understood the reason for why the third option had not been included on the ballot paper.

·       Councillor Aldridge proposed an amendment to the wording and requested that a line was added after 2.3 d) b) to read ‘subject to legal advice and agreement of other district authorities’.  This was duly seconded by Councillor Palmer.

·       Concern was raised that the amendment had been requested too late as the wording had been agreed by all four councils due to the collaborative nature of the work involved.

The Leader of the Council agreed that the amendment should have been raised earlier to allow for the four Leaders to discuss and agree on any amended wording to be used.  All four councils were holding their meeting on the same day, so it made any amendments difficult to implement.

·       Some councillors believed the wording was clear and that there was enough information available to clarify each option the residents had to choose from.

·       Councillors queried the wording within the recommendations compared to the wording used within the report and which would be used on the actual ballot papers.

The Leader of the Council confirmed that the wording within the recommendations would be the wording used on the ballot paper.

·       The vote on the amendment was taken and lost.

·       Councillors agreed that the report was informative but that the four councils should have held a joint meeting, so that the vote would have been taken altogether.

·       Councillors highlighted that the Somerset County Council had not been involved with the Poll carried out in 2007 either.

·       Councillors hoped that the Secretary of State would not be biased in their decision making and that it would be unwise of him to not take into consideration the result of the Poll.

·       Councillors queried the costs quoted within the report, as they appeared to be different for each council.

The Leader of the Council gave information on the costs of the ballot and the work surrounding the ballot.

·       Councillors wanted what was best for the residents of Somerset.

·       Councillors highlighted that it was important to give residents a chance to choose which option they preferred.

·       Councillors queried what would happen if one of the four councils voted against holding a Poll.

The Monitoring Officer gave procedural advice on what would happen.

·       Councillors agreed that the ballot paper should be deemed to be neutral and queried whether the council logo should be on the paper.

The Leader of the Council advised that they were still working on the design and that they had approached Somerset County Council for information.  She assured councillors that only legal information would be included in the ballot paper pack.

Resolved that Full Council:-

2.1Endorsed the holding of a local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of Somerset West and Taunton on the Electoral Register at 6 May 2021 who were eligible to vote on local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset i.e. the two Unitary Councils proposal from Stronger Somerset and the one Unitary Council proposal from One Somerset.

2.2Approved funding of £86,000 to meet the costs associated with the local authority poll (local referendum).  It was proposed that this supplementary budget was funded from General Reserves.

2.3Noted that the decision to hold the local authority poll (local referendum) required an executive decision to be made before proceeding with the poll.  It was proposed that following Full Council’s decision as to whether to endorse the holding of the local authority poll (local referendum), the Leader of the Council would make the following executive decision:

a)    To hold the local authority poll (local referendum) of all residents of Somerset West and Taunton on the Electoral Register at 6 May 2021 who were eligible to vote in local elections, on the two options for the future of local government in Somerset poll including:-

b)    The conducting of the local authority poll (local referendum) as a postal and online referendum (option set out in 6.10ii) utilising Civica Electoral Services with the poll commencing on Tuesday 18 May 2021 and closing at 5pm on Friday 4 June 2021.

c)    The holding of the local authority poll (local referendum) alongside such other Somerset Councils that agreed.

d)    The local authority poll (local referendum) would follow the single non-transferable vote system and the question to be asked would be:

“Which of the two options for change in local government in Somerset to replace the existing five councils do you support (select one only):

a.    One council for Somerset (“One Somerset” - the plan for a single council proposed by Somerset County Council)

b.    Two councils for Somerset: Eastern Somerset and Western Somerset (“Stronger Somerset” the plan for two councils for Somerset – an Eastern and a Western Somerset council –proposed by Somerset West and Taunton Council / South Somerset District Council / Mendip District Council / Sedgemoor District Council and the other district councils of Somerset

e)    That the Executive delegated the role of Counting Officer to Civica Electoral Services. 

f)      That the Executive made such resources, including staff resources, as necessary to the Counting Officer to enable the local authority poll (local referendum) to be conducted.

g)    To delegate to the Chief Executive, the authority to take any further action necessary in relation to this matter.

h)    To write to the Secretary of State to inform him of the local authority poll (local referendum) and its dates, and ask that the result of the local authority poll (local referendum) be properly considered as part of the decision making process on the future of local government in Somerset.