HEAD OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

To consider the report on the Polling Places Review

The report is submitted subsequent to the meeting of the Resources Select Committee of 25^th September 2003, which considered the initial results of the review of all Polling Places within the Isle of Wight, with a particular emphasis on accessibility and suitability.

ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE

1. To determine whether to add any further enquiry into the provision of polling places to the work programme of the select committee.

2. To receive information about:

(i) the review of polling places subsequent to the meeting of 25^th September 2003

(ii) the recommendations arising from that review

(iii) the list of Polling Stations to be designated by the Returning Officer

BACKGROUND

Considerable focus is now placed upon the ability to ensure that all Polling Stations are accessible to all members of the community. Both the Electoral Commission and charities such as SCOPE regularly carry out audits of Polling Stations, and publish their findings. Additionally the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 places a Service Provider under an obligation to ensure that all services can be accessed by the disabled, and to effect reasonable permanent adjustments to buildings in order to facilitate disabled access.

RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Island Futures Theme Three – To Promote The Inclusion Of People With Disabilities In Their Communities with a view to increase voter turnout at local elections from 37% to 39%.

CONSULTATION PROCESS

The full report (Appendix 1) gives details of all those who have been consulted during the compilation of the report, these include:

· Members of the Isle Of Wight Council for the area in question

· Parish and Town Councils in affected areas, where they exist

· Community Forums

· Candidates at Parish/Town and IOWC level in the 2001 elections

· Members of the public by way of a Notice in the Isle Of Wight County Press and via a Press Release issued to all local media

Details of comments made in relation to any proposed changes are included in the report, (Appendix 2).

Once the proposed changes have been finalised, the Polling Districts will need to be approved by the Full Council as a list of Polling Places (Appendix 3) on the Island. It will be from those areas, that, technically, the Returning Officer selects the Polling Stations for any given election.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS

The implementation of this report is budget neutral, as the majority of the solutions offered will incur no extra costs over and above those already incurred in the hire of premises as a Polling Station. The “Disabled Access” signs, already identified in the previous report, can easily be produced in house using existing equipment, and for those premises that require the installation of a temporary threshold ramp, 50% of the expense is immediately recoverable from the Election Claims Unit, with the balance being sourced from the venue concerned.

We have a duty to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Representation of the People Acts with regard to access to services and the administration of elections.

APPENDICES ATTACHED

Appendix 1 County Constituency of The Isle of Wight: Polling Places/Stations Review – Proposed Change of Venue

Appendix 2 Feedback from the Polling Stations Review Consultation Process

Appendix 3 Polling Districts and Polling Stations

Appendix 4 Provision of Polling Stations

BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

This report is based upon personal visits, and upon the responses obtained during the consultation referred to in the report, as sent to specified stakeholders.

Contact Point : Clive Joynes, Electoral Services Officer, Tel: 823341

JOHN LAWSON

Head of Legal and Democratic Services