Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence submitted on this occasion.

There were no reported declarations of interest or dispensations.

Report attached.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, provided a report giving an update on the Parliamentary Boundary Review 2023, notifying members of the latest proposals from the Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) concerning the Hyndburn constituency.  The report sought the Cabinet’s view on the Commission’s latest proposals as part of the final stage of the consultation.

Councillor Parkinson commented that throughout the review the Council had sought to maintain a Parliamentary constituency which was co-terminus with the Hyndburn Borough boundary.  The Commission’s proposals had reflected this principle at all previous consultation stages of the review and the Council had agreed this key aim on several occasions.

The current document was the final draft and its recommendations were again out for formal consultation.  It was envisaged that the outcome would be in place by July 2023.  The intention was to recommend Council to approval the current proposals and to request the Mayor to write a letter to the Commission on behalf of all Hyndburn councillors.

One issue which had arisen was in respect of the proposed name of the constituency.  The review document suggested ‘Hyndburn County Constituency’, whereas there was some support for the name ‘Hyndburn and Haslingden’ to recognise that part of the constituency which was not located within the Borough boundary.  Councillor Peter Britcliffe spoke in favour of the proposals and the request to revise the name of the constituency.  He noted that the MP frequently referred to Hyndburn and Haslingden to ensure that Haslingden residents felt included in national debates.  He also expressed the view that the designation ‘County Constituency’ was somewhat misleading.

Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP welcomed the proposals in the Commission’s latest document.  He noted that everyone had had an opportunity to comment on the various proposals at each stage of the review.  It was pleasing to see that the Commission had decided to retain the existing constituency boundary.  Councillor Dad had not been jn favour of the previous consultation version, which had included some wards from the Ribble Valley and had omitted Haslingden.  On balance, he supported the proposed name change.  He reported that the former MP had also referred to Haslingden when speaking about the constituency.  Councillor Dad anticipated that Haslingden residents would appreciate being formally recognised.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) was an independent and impartial non?departmental public body, which was responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England.

Following the passing of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 in December 2020, and the publication of the relevant Parliamentary electorate data in January 2021, the Commission had begun a new review of all Parliamentary constituencies in England.  They referred to this as the ‘2023 Review’, as they were required to report with their final recommendations by 1^st July 2023.

The Commission had been undertaking an independent review of all constituencies in England since January 2021.  The number of electors within each  ...  view the full minutes text for item 202.