Terms of reference
Polling districts
The review will consider and propose polling districts with the aim of ensuring that:
- the Borough of Slough area is divided into polling districts
- each polling district offers reasonable facilities for voting for all its electors, as far as is practicable in the circumstances
- each Parish is contained within a polling district(s).
Polling places
The review will consider and propose polling places with the aim of ensuring that:
- all electors in a constituency within its area have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
- polling places are sited in buildings that are suitable for use as polling Stations by all sections of the community
- polling places have appropriate access for disabled voters
- polling places are located in an area of the corresponding polling district unless special circumstances make it desirable to designate an area that is wholly or partly outside of the polling district
- polling places are not so large that it is not clear to electors how they will be able to gain access to the polling station.
Glossary of terms
A polling district
This is a geographical sub-division of a district ward or Parish within which a polling place is designated. Polling districts cannot include more than one of either a Parish or a District ward, whichever is the smaller. You can make suggestions about changes to polling districts as part of this review. For example, if you feel that part of a polling district is ill served by the current structure you could suggest splitting the polling district up into smaller parts. This would mean that the Returning Officer would have to provide a polling station in the new smaller districts. You could also suggest that polling districts could be merged.
A polling place
A 'polling place' is an area or building in which a polling station is usually located and can be a complete polling district. You can make suggestions about changes to polling places as part of this review. There cannot be more than one polling place for each polling district.
A polling station
This is the room in which electors vote at the time of an election. This review is not concerned with the location of polling Stations. The location of polling stations remains at the sole discretion of the Returning Officer.
What does the review involve
The review commences with the publication of a notice giving details of the review, including when and where comments or representations can be made.
Any elector in the constituency may make a representation in relation to the size and boundaries of polling districts and the location and suitability of polling places. The council also welcomes comments or representations from any Councillors in the area, past or potential candidates, local political parties and any person or body with expertise in access for persons with any type of disability.
On completion of the review the council will publish all correspondence sent and received, details of the results of the review including any issues raised and indeed any changes which have been approved, giving the reasons for its decisions.
Who is responsible for designating polling districts
Every relevant authority in the UK is responsible for dividing its area into polling districts for UK Parliamentary elections for so much of any constituency as is situated in its area, and for keeping the polling districts under review.
Do the polling districts have to be the same for every type of election
Wherever possible the polling districts for local government elections must mirror that agreed for parliamentary elections.
What happens regarding parishes
Each parish in England must be in a separate polling district unless there are special circumstances that lead the authority to determine otherwise.
What are the background rules
The local authority must:
- seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
- seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places they are responsible for are accessible to all electors, including those who are disabled, and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.
What happens on completion of the review
On completion of the review, the local authority is required to give reasons for its decisions in respect of the designation of both polling districts and polling places and must publish:
- all correspondence sent to the Returning Officer in connection with the review
- all correspondence sent to any person whom the authority thinks has particular expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for persons who have different forms of disability
- all representations made by any person in connection with the review
- the minutes of any meetings held
- details of the agreed designation of polling places and polling districts
- details of where the results of the review have been published.