Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on the day after that on which they are made.

(2) These Regulations apply to the holding of referendums by local authorities in England.

Amendment of Regulations

2.  The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2001(2) are amended—

(a)in regulation 10 (postal ballots and postal votes)—

(i)in paragraph (2), by the substitution, for “A”, of “Subject to paragraph (2A), a”; and

(ii)by the insertion, after paragraph (2), of the following paragraph—

“(2A) A determination may be made under paragraph (1) where the votes at the election are to be cast only by postal ballot.”; and

(b)in Schedule 3 (application, with modifications, of Acts and Statutory Instruments), in Table 1 (Representation of the People Act 2000), before the entry relating to section 12, by the insertion of the following entry(3)—

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2001 (“the principal Regulations”). Referendums under those Regulations relate to the question whether a county, district or London borough council should adopt executive arrangements that include a mayor and cabinet executive, a mayor and council manager executive or a leader and cabinet executive.

The effect of the amendment to regulation 10 of the principal Regulations is to enable voting at a referendum which is required (by regulation 14(1) of those Regulations) to be taken together with an election of a description in regulation 14(2) to be conducted wholly by post where the election is also to be conducted wholly by post.

The effect of the amendment to Table 1 in Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations is to apply section 10 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 to referendums, subject to modifications. (In addition to the modifications specified in the new entry in that Table, section 10 will have effect, in relation to referendums, subject to the modifications for which regulation 8(1) of the principal Regulations provides.) Section 10, as modified, enables the Secretary of State to approve pilot schemes submitted by county, district or London borough councils for the conduct of referendums. The schemes may deal with when, where and how voting is to take place, how votes cast in the referendum are to be counted and the sending by campaign organisers (defined in regulation 6(1) of the principal Regulations) of referendum communications free of charge for postage.