Local Government: Reorganisation

Mr. Pickles
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many councillors each of the restructured local authorities will have; and how many councillors in total across both tiers the council areas will have in each case.

John Healey
The number of councillors if restructuring is implemented, in the five areas for which draft Implementation Orders have been laid before Parliament, is as follows.

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|Local authority      |Number of councillors 1 April 2009|
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|Cornwall county      |82                                |
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|Durham county        |126                               |
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|Northumberland county|67                                |
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|Shropshire county    |48                                |
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|Wiltshire county     |49                                |
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|Grand total          |372                               |
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A new unitary council’s number of councillors may change at the first election held after the Boundary Committee has undertaken a review of the council’s electoral arrangements.

Mr. Pickles
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities undergoing restructuring will have elections for the new council in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009; and in which year in each case parish council elections will take place.

John Healey
Under restructuring orders, which we have laid before the House, the first elections to the new unitary authorities will be in 2008, in the case of the unitary County Durham and Northumberland councils, and in 2009, in the case of the new unitary Cornwall, Shropshire and Wiltshire councils. In all five cases, subsequent elections will be in 2013.

Parish elections in those areas will be held in future on the same cycle as elections for the new unitary councils. As a result some parishes will hold elections in 2009, but the majority will be moved from 2011 to 2013.