Procedural rules for local advisory poll Kidderminster Foreign
Introduction
Under section 116 of the 2003 Act, the rules to be used for the poll are set by the Council. It is a legal requirement that the poll is not combined with elections, even though they are taking place on the same day.
The proposed rules, including the question to be asked and franchise, are set out below. The key elements of the arrangements are
- The method of voting for any individual will reflect and be the same as the local elections e.g. if someone has a postal vote for the county council elections they will have a postal vote for this poll;
- no polling cards will be issued for the poll. Voters will receive one for the council elections and the details of polling station etc will be the same, so the expense of a separate poll card for the local poll cannot be justified;
- in polling stations, there will be a separate electoral register and ballot box for the local poll. These are essential as the poll is not combined with the elections. For the same reason, postal voting packs for the poll will be separate. Photographic identification requirements will not apply to the poll, so that voters are not required to produce their photo ID or voter authority certificate twice;
- votes will be counted on Friday 2 May commencing not later than 12 noon. While the ballot boxes will have to be opened on Friday morning in order to check that there are no ballot papers for the county council elections in them, and verification will be done at that time, the intention is to prioritise counting of the votes in the county council elections.
Background on the wording of the questions
The Electoral Commission has produced guidance for central Government for assessing referendum questions, and it is useful to reflect that in Council’s consideration of the questions to be used for this formal consultation.
A question should present the options clearly, simply, and neutrally, so it should be easy to understand and to the point.
It should be unambiguous; it should avoid encouraging voters to consider one response more favourably than another and it should avoid misleading voters.
In that context, the question should be written in plain language, that is language that uses short sentences (around 15-20 words), is simple, direct, and concise and uses familiar words and avoids jargon or technical terms that would not be easily understood by most people.
The question should be written in neutral language, avoiding words that suggest a judgement or opinion either explicitly or implicitly.
The information contained in the question should be factual, describe the question, the options clearly and accurately and the question should avoid assuming anything about voters’ views.
Proposed questions
Taking all these factors into account, it is proposed that the question should be as follows and that voters are asked to respond with either a “yes” or “no” response.
Should the Habberley Road development be transferred from the parish of Kidderminster Foreign to the town of Kidderminster?
Proposed franchise
It is proposed that electors registered to vote for local government elections will have the franchise in the local advisory poll to be held on 1 May 2025.
Proposed procedural rules
Procedural rules for local advisory poll to be held in Kidderminster Foreign on 1 May 2025
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Number of rule |
Content of rule |
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1. Introduction |
These are the rules for the local advisory poll to be held by Wyre Forest District Council on Thursday 1 May 2025. |
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2. Definitions |
“The council” means Wyre Forest District Council. “The counting officer” means the person who for the time being is the returning officer at elections of councillors for the district of Wyre Forest under section 35 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. “Electors” means the local government electors who, in accordance with section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, are entitled to vote in ordinary elections of councillors in Wolverley and Cookley. “Kidderminster Foreign” means the parish of that name which comprises the polling districts designated as follows: “The poll” means the local advisory poll to be held on 1 May 2025, under section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003, pursuant to a resolution of Wyre Forest District Council dated 15 May 2024. “The question” means the questions specified in rule 3. |
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3. Question to be asked |
The question to be asked in the poll shall be: Should the Habberley Road development be transferred from the parish of Kidderminster Foreign to the town of Kidderminster? |
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4. Publicity |
The council shall publish only the following information in respect of the poll: the terms of reference for the community governance review; and information for electors about the poll, the question to be asked, and how and when electors may cast their ballot in the poll. |
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5. Restriction on publication of promotional material |
The council shall not publish material putting arguments for or against a particular answer to the question. This rule shall not prevent the publication of press notices containing factual information where the sole purpose of the publication is to refute or correct any inaccuracy in material published by a person other than the council. |
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6. Duties of the counting officer |
It is the general duty of the counting officer to do all such acts and things as may be necessary for effectually conducting the poll in the manner provided by these rules. The counting officer must appoint and pay such persons as may be necessary for conducting the poll, including the counting of votes. The costs incurred by the counting officer in conducting the poll shall be met by the council. |
7. Date and conduct of the poll |
The poll shall be held on Thursday 1 May 2025 between the hours of 7am and 10pm. No poll cards shall be issued. Electors voting in person and proxies shall not be required to produce a “specified document” (as mentioned in paragraph 26(1A) of Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2012 No. 323). |
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8. Postal votes and proxy votes |
Where a person has applied under Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 to vote by post, or to vote by proxy, in elections of councillors, and the application did not relate only to a specified election or to a period ending prior to 1 May 2025, that person is to be treated as having applied also to vote by post, or to vote by proxy, in the poll. |
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9. Arrangements for sealing and opening of ballot boxes for the poll (polling stations) |
The ballot box for the poll shall be sealed at the start of the poll by the presiding officer at a polling station. |
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10. Verification and count |
The counting officer shall verify and count the votes cast in the poll at Wyre Forest Leisure Centre, Silverwoods Way, Kidderminster DY11 7DT on Friday 2 May 2025. At the end of the count, the counting officer shall declare the results of the poll, giving for each of the polling districts: (a) The number of ballot papers counted; (b) The total number of votes cast in favour of the question (“yes”); (c) the total number of votes cast against the question (“no”); (d) the number of rejected ballot papers under each heading shown in a statement of rejected ballot papers. |
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11. Advertisements |
The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 shall have effect in relation to the display on any site in a voting area of an advertisement relating specifically to the poll as they have effect in relation to the display of an advertisement relating specifically to a local government election. |
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12. Other rules governing the poll |
The counting officer shall draw up and publish not later than 1 March 2025 other rules for the poll, and the Council hereby delegates to the counting officer its powers under section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003 to set those other rules. The other rules shall be based on the rules set out in Schedule 3 to the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2012 No. 323, with such amendments, omissions and modifications for the poll as are consistent with the foregoing provisions of these rules and are considered by the counting officer to be appropriate for the poll. |
Appendix 3 – map of area covered by the community governance review.
