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Statutory Review of Polling Districts and Places

Consultation

In accordance with Section 18C of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended by the Electoral Administration Act 2006, notice is hereby given that Orkney Islands Council is undertaking a statutory review of polling districts and polling places within the Orkney Islands Area of the Orkney and Shetland Parliamentary Constituency.

What are we reviewing?

We’re carrying out a review to decide the polling districts and polling places that will be used in future elections. The council has a duty under the Representation of the People Act 1983 to divide its area into polling districts and to designate polling places for each district.

The review requires the council to:

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 we are responsible for are accessible to all electors, and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.

The Council would welcome any comments from electors who are registered within the above parliamentary constituency and those persons or bodies who have particular expertise in relation to premises or facilities for persons with any type of disability. Representations should, if possible, suggest alternative arrangements to be considered.

Please note this review does not cover the changing of ward or constituency boundaries, these boundaries are determined by the Boundary Commission for Scotland (https://www.bcomm-scotland.independent.gov.uk/).

The current view is that the electorate are reasonably happy with the existing facilities. However, the Council is undertaking this statutory review to allow comments on the current polling district and polling place arrangements to be gathered and thereafter consider if any changes should be considered.

In particular, the Council is proposing that the temporary use of Evie Church and Orphir Church as polling stations during the last two elections is made permanent and that all other polling stations in Orkney remain as they are. The Council would welcome your views on this and on whether you consider polling stations in Orkney to be accessible for people with disabilities, and of any improvements are required.

Who can respond to the consultation?

Consultation Timetable

Friday 17 January 2020: Commence public consultation.

Friday 31 January 2020: Public consultation ends.

Monday 3 February 2020 - Friday 7 February 2020: Analysis of submissions and consultation with Returning Officer.

Thursday 20 February 2020: Submission of final proposals to Orkney Islands Council.

Explanation of terms

A polling place is the building where people from a polling district go to vote, there may be one or more polling stations (room) within the polling place.

A polling district is the geographical area (sub-division of ward) in which a polling place is located.

How to Respond

We would be pleased to hear from you if you have any comments about your current polling place. If you are not happy with your polling arrangements it would be helpful to us if you can suggest an alternative polling place in your area.

We can accept comments from you by Friday 31 January 2020 and you can respond in the following ways:

By post

Polling District and Polling Place Review.

Elections Office.

Council Office.

School Place.

Kirkwall.

Orkney.

By Email

electionoffice@orkney.gov.uk

By phone:

01856886350.

By completing the questionnaire which can be downloaded from the 'Related Downloads' section of this page.

Reference Material

Access to the current polling districts, polling places and other supporting information can be viewed during normal office hours at the above address, or in the 'Related Downloads' section of this page.

If you do not have internet access, the material can be accessed from Customer Services or if you require the information in any other format please contact the Election Office using the details above.

A Public Notice announcing the review can be found here - Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places 2020

Returning Officer, Orkney Islands Area.

17 January 2020.

Results from Polling Station Review

Approval was sought by Orkney Islands Council on 20 February 2020, and you can read details of this meeting within the related downloads section below, or by clicking on the following link Details of the Polling Place Review meeting.