The Electoral Review Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss electoral division variance, community governance reviews and parish vacancies. The committee was also scheduled to elect a chairman and vice-chairman for the year 2025/26.

Electoral Division Variance

The Electoral Review Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the electoral variance of Wiltshire Council Divisions.

An electoral review is an examination of a principal council's electoral arrangements which can change the number of councillors, the number and boundaries of wards or divisions, the number of councillors for any ward or division, and the name of any ward or division.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) conducts reviews either at the request of the local authority, or if the local authority meets the commission's intervention criteria. These criteria are:

• If one ward has an electorate of +/-30% from the average electorate for the authority.
• If 30% of all wards have an electorate of +/-10% from the average electorate for the authority.

The report pack noted that from 2018-19 the LGBCE conducted an electoral review of Wiltshire Council because two divisions had a variance from the average electorate of over 30%. The new divisions for Wiltshire Council came into effect in May 2021 for the local elections.

The report pack stated that 19 divisions currently have a variance greater than 10%, which is below the intervention criteria of the LGBCE which would be 30 divisions.

The LGBCE technical guidance on electoral reviews clarifies the reasons they conduct reviews, adding that 'the imbalance [in ward variance] is unlikely to be corrected by foreseeable changes to the electorate within a reasonable period'.

The report pack noted that in past discussions with the LGBCE, they have stated that if 30% of Wiltshire Council Divisions were +/-10% from the average electorate from 2024 onwards, the commission would likely seek a conversation with Wiltshire Council to assess the situation, and to determine if the imbalance did appear likely to be corrected within a reasonable period by foreseeable changes to the electorate.

The report pack stated that should the criteria of a 30% variance be triggered and the commission is not persuaded that the variances will improve, Wiltshire would mostly likely be added to the review list.

The report pack stated that as at 1 May 2025 three divisions had a variance of over 20% under the average division:

• Chippenham Monkton (-43%)
• Chippenham Lowden & Rowden (-27%)
• Trowbridge Park (-23%)

The report pack noted that each of these divisions includes an area involving major planning applications which have permission, have sought permission, or are within the housing sites allocation plan. It also noted that Spatial Planning have advised that significant development is unlikely to take place on the allocated site at Rawlings Green in the Chippenham Monkton area for several years.

The report pack stated that two divisions are currently at greater than 20% variance above the average division:

• Purton (+27%)
• Old Sarum and Lower Bourne Valley (+24%)

The report pack noted that the commission has previously confirmed that being significantly above the variance threshold is more likely to lead to an authority being added to the review list, as unlike a low electorate external factors cannot address the variance to the same degree.

The report pack stated that given the continuing mix of oversized and undersized divisions, the more divisions approach the trigger points the greater the risk that the council will be subject to an electoral review ahead of the 2029 elections.

Community Governance Reviews 2025-2029

The Electoral Review Committee was scheduled to consider a proposed approach for Community Governance Reviews (CGR).

A CGR is a process wherein a principal authority can adjust the governance arrangements of parishes within its council area. This can include amending the number of councillors or wards, the external boundaries, or even the creation/merger/abolition/grouping of entire parishes.

The council is required to undertake reviews where it receives a valid petition, signed by the requisite number of electors for a specific area. The council may also undertake reviews at any time where it considers it appropriate to do so, for example where there have been changes in populations as a result of new developments, and in response to reasonable requests received from individuals, groups or parish councils themselves.

The report pack noted that from 2021-2025 the committee reviewed approximately 50 parishes directly across three separate CGRs, with additional consideration of impacts on any surrounding parishes, and that 26 detailed recommendations were made, all of which were approved by Full Council following appropriate consultation.

Guidance from the LGBCE is that it is good practice to conduct a review of all parishes every 10-15 years, except in cases of areas with very low populations where less frequent reviews may be adequate.

The report pack stated that with more than 250 parishes in Wiltshire there are a great many parishes which have not been through a review in a long time, and in fact it may be unclear when they were last reviewed at all.

The report pack noted that councils can conduct a review of the whole of its area in one go, and that in 2020 Cornwall Council conducted a review of its over 200 parishes in a single review.

The report pack stated that when undertaking a CGR the council is required to publish terms of reference specifying the area under review, the extent of the review, and other related matters.

The report pack noted that at present no formal requests for review have been received by the council, although a number of parishes have sought advice or made expressions of interest for undertaking a review.

The report pack stated that one approach could be to review all parishes across specific area board areas, seeking information on how many councillors they have, whether they have had contested elections, are there any ward or boundary issues which are outdated or inappropriate, and other information as part of the review process.

The report pack proposed that the committee delegate authority to the Director, Legal and Governance, to undertake appropriate action including information gathering, to prepare detailed terms of reference for the committee to approve at a future meeting.

The report pack also proposed that any current or future requests to change the name of a parish be undertaken through S75 of the Local Government Act 1972, with the arrangements delegated to the Director of Legal and Governance after consultation with the Chairman.

May 2025 Parish Vacancies

The Electoral Review Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the local elections that took place on 1 May 2025 including the nomination process for the parish councils and the issues surrounding parish councils that were not quorate.

The report pack noted that elections were run for 308 parish election areas of which 47 election areas were contested, equating to 15% of election areas being contested.

The report pack stated that following the May elections and 19 June re-run elections, there were 505 vacant parish seats that the relevant parish council can fill by co-option, and that to date, Electoral Services have been advised that 46 of the 505 seats have been filled by co-option.

The report pack noted that at the close of nominations on 2 April 2025, 12 parish councils either had an insufficient number of candidate nominations or no candidates stood, deeming the council to be inquorate. The 12 inquorate parish councils are:

• Ashton Keynes Parish Council
• Burbage Parish Council
• Dauntsey Parish Council
• Grafton Parish Council
• Heywood Parish Council
• Latton Parish Council
• Little Bedwyn Parish Council
• Lydiard Tregoze Parish Council
• Oaksey Parish Council
• Redlynch Parish Council
• Stockton Parish Council
• Winterbourne Stoke Parish Council

The report pack stated that with the exception of Stockton Parish Council, that was inquorate in both 2021 and 2025, all other inquorate parishes in 2021 and 2025 were different parish councils so there is no pattern in the parishes that are struggling to find candidates.

The report pack noted that as per legislation, if a parish council is not quorate following the four-year cycle elections, a new election must take place within 35 working days of when the original poll date was scheduled.

The report pack stated that the Returning Officer scheduled the re-run elections for the 12 inquorate parish councils for 19 June 2025, and that at the close of nominations on 22 May 2025, 11 of the 12 parish councils had enough candidates to become quorate but were not contested.

The report pack noted that Dauntsey Parish Council received one nomination for the 1 May election but did not receive any nominations for the re-run on 19 June and remained inquorate, and that a further re-run election for Dauntsey is scheduled for 31 July 2025.

The report pack stated that Electoral Services worked closely with the National Association of Local Councils and Wiltshire Association of Local Councils in order to support the parishes in preparation for the elections.

The report pack noted that at the close of nominations on 2 April, 1,661 candidates had submitted nomination papers for parish elections, and that as comparison to 2021, there were 1,841 candidates that submitted nomination papers for parish elections.

The report pack stated that Electoral Services received a large number of compliments and positive feedback from candidates standing at these elections, including the smooth running of the online booking service.

The report pack included a table comparing Wiltshire against other local authorities where the full council went to election in 2025.