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  • Agenda
  • Agenda

    Venue: Council Chamber, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone. View directions

    Contact: Joel Cook  03000 416892

    Media

    Items
    No. Item

    1.

    Apologies for Absence

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    2.

    Election of Chairman

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    3.

    Election of Vice-Chairman

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    4.

    Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in items on the agenda

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    5.

    Minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2021 and, if in order, to be approved as a correct record pdf icon PDF 181 KB

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    6.

    Chairman's Announcements

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    7.

    Questions

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    8.

    Report by Leader of the Council (Oral)

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    9.

    Health and Care Partnership Working with the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System pdf icon PDF 606 KB

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    10.

    Strategic Statement Update pdf icon PDF 156 KB

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    11.

    Governance Refresh Plan pdf icon PDF 158 KB

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    12.

    Motion(s) for Time Limited Debate

    Motion for Time Limited Debate – Opposing mandatory Voter ID proposals in the Elections Bill

     

    Proposer: Richard Streatfeild

    Seconder: Trudy Dean

     

    Background information – Provided by the Liberal Democrat Group

     

    The Elections Bill is currently working through parliament, which in its current form will include provision for those wishing to vote to provide photographic ID at polling stations. A Cabinet Office-commissioned study released in May that found more than 2 million voters could lack the necessary ID to take part in future elections. The Electoral Reform Society has said the plans could lead to “disenfranchisement on an industrial scale”.

     

    In 2019, nationally and across Local, European, Parliamentary and Mayoral elections, 58 million votes were cast. Of these, there were just 33 allegations of impersonation which resulted in one conviction and one caution for people casting votes illegally. Clearly issues around voter fraud are not endemic within the current system, and there are already robust measures in place to tackle this as and when it occurs.

     

    The costs of the new measures are estimated by government to be £8.5m a year, and the cross-party Local Government Association have noted the serious capacity and resilience implications for councils, including the risk that identity checks and the possible refusal of votes may make election staff recruitment even harder than it is already.

     

     

    Motion

     

    The Council recognises the significant cost implications and potential voter disenfranchisement that introducing mandatory voter ID will have on the democratic process.  The Council therefore asks the Leader of the Council to write to all Kent MPs, noting the Council’s opposition to the voter ID proposals and asking them to support any amendments to the Bill which would remove these provisions, ensuring that disadvantaged communities do not face barriers to engaging with the democratic process.

     

    The Council also commits not to volunteer to take part in any pilots which will require mandatory voter ID.

     

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