HC Deb 21 July 1972 vol 841 cc1258-60

TERM OF OFFICE AND RETIREMENT OF COUNCILLORS

Mr. Gibson Watt

I beg to move, Amendment No. 961, in page 14, line 14, at end insert: '(1A) For the purposes of the election of councillors—

  1. (a) every county shall be divided into electoral divisions, each returning (subject to paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 to this Act) one councillor; and
  2. (b) every district shall be divided into wards each returning such number of councillors as may be provided by an order under the said paragraph 2 or under or by virtue of the following provisions of this section or Schedule 10 to this Act;
and there shall be a separate election for each electoral division or ward'.

Mr. George Thomas

I wish to tell the Secretary of State and the Minister of State that we note that in the Welsh local government reform, which is the largest upheaval we shall see in the lifetime of this generation, the Secretary of State has not given one concession throughout all the Amendments. The Welsh have co-operated very well by agreeing to this abbreviated debate on a major proposal.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 927, in page 14, leave out lines 22 to 33 and insert:

  1. '(3) A district council may at any time in pursuance of the requisite resolution request the Secretary of State to provide—
    1. (a) for a system of whole council elections, that is to say, the holding of the ordinary elections of all the councillors of the district simultaneously; or
    2. (b) for a system of elections by thirds, that is to say, the election of one-third, as nearly as may be, of the councillors of the district at the ordinary elections of such councillors in any year;
    indicating in the case of a request under paragraph (b) above, those areas, if any, in which there should, and those, if any, in which there should not, be wards each returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three. 1259
    • In this subsection "the requisite resolution" means in the case of a resolution passed before 1st April 1974 a resolution passed by a majority, and in the case of a resolution passed on or after that date a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds, of the members voting thereon at a meeting of the council specially convened for the purpose with notice of the object.
  2. (4) Where the Secretary of State receives a request under subsection (3)(a) above from a district council or does not before 1st April 1974 receive a request from a district council under subsection (3)(b) above, he may make an order providing for the ordinary elections of all the district councillors to be held simultaneously and the order may contain the like provision, and shall be treated, as if made under section 60 below.
  3. (5) Where the Secretary of State receives a request under subsection (3)(b) above from a district council he may ask the Welsh Commission to make proposals in the light of the request with respect to—
    1. (a) the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which the district should be divided and the number of councillors to be elected for each ward;
    2. (b) the order of retirement of councillors elected for wards not returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three; and, where the Commission have not completed their review of the electoral arrangements for the district under paragraph 10 of Schedule 10 to this Act, they shall as part of that review consider the proposals to be made under this subsection and, in any other case, sections 61, 62 and 63 below shall apply to the consideration by the Commission of any such proposals as they apply to their conduct of a review under section 59 below and any such proposals shall be treated as if made under section 60 below.
  4. (6) The ordinary election of district councillors shall take place—
    1. (a) except where an order is in force providing for the election of district councillors by thirds, in 1973, 1976, 1979 and every fourth year thereafter; and
    2. (b) where such an order is in force, in the year when the order comes into force and every year thereafter other than a year of election of county councillors.
  5. (7) The following provisions of this subsection shall, subject to the provisions of any order made under or by virtue of this section, have effect with respect to district councillors—
    1. (a) their term of office shall be three years in the case of the councillors elected at the ordinary elections in 1973 and 1976 and four years in the case of those elected at ordinary elections held thereafter;
    2. (b) except where an order is in force providing for the election of councillors by thirds, the whole number of the councillors shall retire together in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in or after 1976 the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire; and
    3. (c) where such an order is in force, one-third of the whole number of the councillors 1260 in each ward returning a number of councillors which is divisible by three and, as nearly as may be, one third of the whole number of the councillors in the other wards, being those who have been councillors of the district for the longest time without re-election, shall retire in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and in every such year the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire'.—[Mr. Peter Walker.]

Mr. Roderick

I beg to move Amendment No. 685, in page 14, line 33, at end insert: (5) It shall be the duty of employers to ensure that any employee who is elected to a county or district council is enabled to carry out his duties as a councillor. At this late stage I move the Amendment virtually formally. It is an important subject, but we cannot do justice to it at this stage. However, I should like the Minister of State to say what is the Government's view on this subject. It came to my attention when a teacher approached me saying that his employers had told him that he would be unable to serve on one of the new councils. He did not mean the council that employs him. He simply wanted to be in a position to serve on a district council.

It would be deplorable if democratic rights are restricted in that way, I want an assurance that people in all walks of life will be allowed to enjoy full democratic freedom.

Mr. Gibson-Watt

This is a matter which was discussed by Redcliffe-Maud, whose views on it are well known. The Government share the hon. Gentleman's aim but are convinced that a voluntary approach is the only practicable way forward and that an attempt at legislation would be unenforceable and would be likely to prove counter-productive in the long run.

Amendment negatived.

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