Community Governance Review Daventry District Gill Kennedy – Governance & HR Manager Jane Lyons – Principal Elections Officer

OVERVIEW Under the Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 it is now the responsibility of ‘Principal Councils’ to undertake a review of local governance every 10-15 years; this is a review of Town and Parish arrangements. It was agreed at Full Council on 16th May that a review would commence for the Daventry District. This will be the first CGR that Daventry District has held and the requirement is that it should be held before 2022. All stakeholders will be consulted but ultimately the final decisions are made by DDC.

Review Timetable The review must be completed within one year of the publication of the Terms of Reference and therefore will be completed by July 2019. The review timetable is as follows:

Review Timetable cont… Stage 1 Wednesday 16th May Full Council resolves to undertake review Thursday 17th May – Wednesday 18th July Deadline for submission of issues to be looked at (from parishes and district councillors) Stage 2 Friday 27th July Final Terms of Reference Published Between Friday 28th July and Friday 10th August 2018 Working Group meet to review requests and prepare consultation Friday 10th August to Friday 14th September 2018 Prepare Consultation Information Stage 3 Monday 17th September to Friday 16th November Consultation with Members of all affected areas Between Monday 19th November and Monday 10th December 2018 Working Group meet to review consultation responses received and formulate recommendations Monday 21st January 2019 Report to SMT with recommendations Thursday 7th February 2019 Report to Strategy Group with recommendations Stage 4 Monday 25th February to Monday 25th March 2019 Consultation on recommendations Between Friday 29th March and Thursday 4th April 2019 Working Group meet to consider consultation responses received an finalise recommendations Stage 5 Thursday 11th April 2019 Final report to Strategy Group W/C Monday 29th April 2019 Final recommendations published; Community Governance Review Order drafted. May 2019 Final report to Council and finalise CGR Order. Stage 6 May 2020 Implement order.

Current Arrangements In Daventry District there are 52 Parish Councils, 20 Parish Meetings and 1 Town Council. Responsible for setting precept to manage local facilities such as village/town halls, allotments, bus shelters, parks, playgrounds, public seats, public toilets, public clocks.

Current Arrangements Councillors are elected every 4 years in thirds. Parish populations range from 12 to 19680. Some parishes are warded (split into areas) and some are grouped (joined together)

What can be changed? Changing boundaries Creating new parishes Abolishing parishes Changing the name of the council Dividing a parish into wards Group parishes together Changing the number of seats on a council

What should you consider … ….. When thinking about issues that may affect you? The identities and interests of the community Cost of casual vacancies The effective and convenient governance of the area The impact the proposal may have on community cohesion Does the change make sense Acknowledge people’s sense of place and historic attachment to the areas

What Happens Next? We have set up a working group of members of Daventry District Councillors and officers We will involve and consult the communities affected We can come and talk at your council meeting if required We will refer to all guidance available to us from the Electoral Commission, The Government & NALC. We will consult on all proposals put forward.

Contact Details Jane Lyons – Principal Elections Officer jlyons@daventrydc.gov.uk Tel: 01327 302321 Gill Kennedy gkennedy@daventrydc.gov.uk Tel: 01327 302415

Any questions?