HAVE YOUR SAY - Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in England

On 13^th September 2011, the Boundary Commission for England published its initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituencies in England.

A public consultation on the proposals has now opened and you are invited to have your say and submit comments by 5^th December 2011.

It is proposed for a Liskeard constituency to be formed from the existing South East Cornwall, North Cornwall and St Austell and Newquay constituencies.

You can view the proposals via the Boundary Commission's website www.independent.gov.uk/boundarycommissionforengland

OR

In person at the following venues local to St Dominick:

• Callington Library, Launceston, PL17 7DR
• Guildhall (Saltash Town Council), Lower Fore Street, Saltash, PL12 6JX
• Council Offices, Luxestowe House, Liskeard, PL14 3DZ 

Cornwall residents urged to register now to vote in 2012

Cornwall Council is encouraging local people to register now to make sure they can vote in 2012. Police Commissioner Elections are expected to take place in 2012 and local by-elections could also occur at short notice, so it is important to register now.

The Council is required to produce a new and accurate list of voters each year which then stays in force for the following twelve months.

Electoral registration forms were posted before the August bank holiday weekend to over 250,000 households in Cornwall to enable the new electoral register to be compiled for use in 2012.

“The new electoral register will be published on 1 December and only people who are on the register will be able to vote“ explained Denise Holwill, Cornwall’s Electoral Services Manager. “It is vital that people complete and return the form as soon as possible so their names can be included on the register and tax payers’ money can be spent most efficiently.”

The forms contain the details of all the people who are currently registered to vote at that address. If none of the details on the form have changed, the householder can either sign the form and return it in the pre paid envelope provided or register electronically by:

• Phone
• Registering online via a website
• Sending a text message

Further details, including the security code that householders need to quote, are given on the form. Registering electronically is not only the quickest and easiest method, but also helps the Council to save taxpayers money.

If any details on the form have changed, people should cross through the names of anyone who no longer lives at the address, amend any mistakes or add the names of anyone new who is eligible to vote. They then need to sign the form and return it – either in the pre paid envelope or by dropping it into any Council office or one stop shop.

Denise and her team hope that as many people as possible will complete and return their forms as soon as they receive them. If the Council receives a response by 22 September, this will prevent a reminder form being sent out. Any households who do not reply by then will be sent a reminder form at the beginning of October – which will cost the Council additional money.

In addition a team of over 100 canvassers will then visit any households who have still not registered between 21 October and 14 November to help people fill in their forms.

“People are required by law to provide the information which is asked for in the forms“ said Denise. “While most people respond quickly, we always have a number of households who do not return their forms.

“Based on last year’s response we anticipate having to send out around 80,000 reminders in October and subsequently visit around 30,000 of those homes which have not previously responded to our forms. If people look out for the forms and respond promptly then they can help to make savings which can go towards other essential services”.

Anyone who does not received their form can telephone Cornwall Council Electoral Services to request a replacement on 0300 123 1115.

Why a zero increase on council tax and an increase in Parish Council Precept?

In these cash-strapped times, it was good news for council taxpayers in Cornwall when Cornwall Council announced, back in February this year, its plans to freeze council tax for the next two years.

Good news indeed but how was this going to be achieved when Cornwall Council like every other local authority in the UK were looking for ways to seriously slash its expenditure and increase revenue?

It’s all due to a financial incentive from Central Government - if a local authority froze the level of council tax paid out by residents, it can claim 2.5% of the total council tax collected. This Government subsidy is worth almost £6 million pounds to Cornwall alone.

Unlike Cornwall Council, Central Government does not subsidise Parish and Town Councils whose main source of funding is limited to only the Precept (funds collected from parishioners via council tax) and applying for grants for specific things e.g. the new play area at Lovell’s Park has been paid for entirely from play grants and not from the Precept. However, Parish Councils being local government can often be excluded from applying for many types of grants.

Sadly, Parish and Town Councils all over the country are experiencing increases in their expenditure as the costs of the services they provide go up. As the current Government is pushing through its Big Society plans, it is inevitable that more and more will be devolved to Parish Council level - we have seen this already with Cornwall Council passing responsibility of grit bins and public toilets downwards. With no Central Government subsidies, Parish Councils have no choice but to rely on the Precept to ensure that the parish is not left without.

Be warned though, it is likely that Cornwall Council will increase council tax for financial year 2013-2014.