Community governance review
About the review
A community governance review is a process to provide an opportunity to review and make changes to governance arrangements for town and parish councils and parish areas. This is to ensure they continue to reflect local identities and facilitate effective and convenient local government.
A community governance review can take place for the whole or part of the borough to consider one or more of the following:
- Creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes
- The naming of parishes and the style of new parishes
- The electoral arrangements for parish including:
- The ordinary year of election
- Council size
- The number of councillors to be elected to the council
- The warding (if any) of the parish
- Grouping parishes under a common parish council or de-grouping parishes.
Community governance reviews are undertaken in accordance with the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.
Why is the council undertaking the review?
The council believes that parish and town councils play an important role in community empowerment and wants to ensure that parish governance in our borough continues to be robust, representative, and able to meet the challenges that lie before it. Furthermore, it wants to ensure there is clarity and transparency to the area that parish councils represent and the electoral arrangements of parishes (warding arrangements and allocations of councillors) are appropriate, equitable and understood by their electorate.
The council is undertaking a review at this time because a period of 10 years has elapsed since the last review was carried out in 2012. This is in line with government guidance that it is good practice to conduct a review every 10 to 15 years
Which areas will be under review?
The whole of the Hinckley and Bosworth area will be included in the Community Governance Review. The review will not automatically mean there are changes but it will see if there is a case for change. The council is not seeking a particular solution at this stage but wishes to get the views of residents and assess whether any changes are required. Changes will be made if they are necessary to reflect the identity and interests of local communities and ensure effective and convenient local governance.
Timetable for the review:
- Commencement of review - terms of reference published: 23 February 2022
- Initial consultation stage: 23 February 2022 to 18 May 2022
- Draft recommendations prepared: May to June 2022
- Draft recommendations published: 13 July 2022 (following approval by Council)
- Consultation on draft recommendations: 13 July to 7 September 2022
- Final recommendations prepared: September to October 2022
- Final recommendations considered by Council: 1 November 2022
