18Conduct of initial review
(1)In conducting an initial review the Commission must seek to ensure effective and convenient local government.
(2)Directions given and guidance issued under section 17 may specify what constitutes effective and convenient local government for the purposes of subsection (1).
(3)The Commission, in considering the electoral arrangements for a proposed principal area on an initial review, must—
(a)seek to ensure that the ratio of local government electors to the number of members of the principal local authority to be elected is, as nearly as may be, the same in every electoral ward of the proposed principal area, and
(b)have regard to—
(i)the desirability of setting boundaries for electoral wards which are and will remain easily identifiable, and
(ii)the desirability of not breaking local ties when setting boundaries for electoral wards.
(4)For the purposes of subsection (3)(a) account is to be taken of—
(a)any discrepancy between the number of local government electors and the number of persons who are eligible to be local government electors (as indicated by relevant official statistics), and
(b)any change in the number or distribution of local government electors in the proposed principal area which is likely to take place in the period of five years immediately after recommendations are made.
(5)In considering on an initial review whether, as part of any relevant consequential changes, a community should be divided into community wards in consequence of the electoral arrangements being recommended for the proposed principal area, regard is to be had to—
(a)whether the number or distribution of the local government electors in the community makes a single election of community councillors impractical or inconvenient, and
(b)whether it is desirable that any area of the community should be separately represented on the community council.
(6)Where it is decided on an initial review that, as part of any relevant consequential changes, a community should be divided into community wards, in considering the size and boundaries of the wards and in setting the number of community councillors to be elected for each ward, regard is to be had to—
(a)any change in the number or distribution of local government electors in the community which is likely to take place within the period of five years immediately after any recommendation is made,
(b)the desirability of setting boundaries which are and will remain easily identifiable, and
(c)any local ties which will be broken by the setting of any particular boundaries.
(7)Where it is decided on an initial review, as part of any relevant consequential changes, that a community should not be divided into community wards, in setting the number of councillors to be elected for each community, regard is to be had to—
(a)the number and distribution of local government electors in the community, and
(b)any change in the number or distribution of local government electors in the community which is likely to take place within the period of five years immediately after the number of community councillors is set.
(8)For the purposes of subsections (5) to (7) account is to be taken of any discrepancy between the number of local government electors and number of persons who are eligible to be local government electors (as indicated by relevant official statistics).
(9)In this section—
“relevant official statistics” (“ystadegau swyddogol perthnasol”) means the official statistics within the meaning of section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 which the Commission considers appropriate;
“local government elector” (“etholwr llywodraeth leol”) means a person registered as a local government elector in the register of electors in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Acts.