Our role
We are responsible for conducting a number of different reviews. Some of these reviews are directed by the Electoral Commission, others are undertaken following a request from the Secretary of State. The three main type of reviews we are responsible for are electoral reviews, structural reviews and administrative boundary reviews.
Electoral reviews
An electoral review considers whether the boundaries of wards or divisions within a local authority need to be altered to take account of changes in electorate. The Electoral Commission directs us to do these types of reviews and is also responsible for implementing them.
We also look at the number of councillors, the number of wards or divisions and whether the wards or divisions should be represented by a single councillor, or jointly by two or three councillors.
More detailed information about electoral reviews can be found on the about electoral reviews page.
Structural reviews
A structural review is used to consider whether one or more single, all-purpose councils, known as unitary authorities, should be established in an area instead of the existing two-tier system.
More detailed information about structural reviews, including current structural reviews, can be found on the about structural reviews page.
Administrative boundary reviews
In addition to the reviews of ward or division boundaries, we may also undertake reviews of the external boundary of a district or county. This is either at the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government, at the request of a local council or on our own initiative.
Read more about administrative boundary reviews
Our aim
Our aim is to conduct thorough, consultative and robust reviews of local government areas in England, and for our recommendations to be evidence-based, accurate and accepted.
Our responsibilities relate solely to local government. We do not have responsibility for reviewing Parliamentary boundaries. If you want to find more information about Parliamentary boundaries in England, please contact the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England.
Relationship with the Electoral Commission
The Boundary Committee is a statutory committee of the Electoral Commission. When carrying out electoral reviews we report to the Electoral Commission, which makes decisions on our recommendations and decides how and when to implement these, creating the legislation to implement new electoral arrangements.
Full details of the Boundary Committee's relationship with the Electoral Commission can be found in this protocol explanation document (PDF).
