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Schools used as polling places

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Dear Bromley Borough Council,

Please could you provide the following information:

How many polling places are there in Bromley Borough for the elections on 6th May?

How many schools are used as polling places?

How many of the schools used as polling places will be closed to all or the majority of pupils on 6th May?

How many polling places were changed from a school to an alternative location in accordance with the letter from the Department of Education and Cabinet Office of 11th February 2021 ?(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...)

Yours faithfully,

R King

Walton, Graham, Bromley Borough Council

 
Dear Mr/Ms King,
 
Thank you for your email dated 30 April 2021 and your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the use of Schools as Polling
Places at the recent GLA Election – please accept my apologies for the
delay in responding to you.
 
First of all, I can advise you that the Council’s Director of Corporate
Services, Mark Bowen, is the Returning Officer for the London Borough of
Bromley, and is responsible for election matters in this area. However,
please note that his appointment as Returning Officer (RO) is separate to
his appointment as Director and, although appointed by the local
authority, he does not carry out the duties on behalf of the local
authority but in his own personal capacity. 
 
Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sets out the list of
public authorities who are required to respond to Freedom of Information
(FOI) requests. Whilst a local authority is required to comply with FOI
requests, there is no requirement for a Returning Officer (RO) to do so.
However, notwithstanding that there is no statutory obligation for me to
provide this information, I would like to help you with your request, so
far as I am able and the information is easily available or already in the
public domain.
 
How many polling places are there in Bromley Borough for the elections on
6th May?
There were 104 polling places used for the election.
 
How many schools are used as polling places?
15 schools were used.
 
How many of the schools used as polling places will be closed to all or
the majority of pupils on 6th May?
This information is not held by the RO. Legislation provides that the RO
can request the use of a room in a school (or publicly funded building).
In the case of schools, it is the decision of the Head Teacher as to
whether or not the school remains open.
 
How many polling places were changed from a school to an alternative
location in accordance with the letter from the Department of Education
and Cabinet Office of 11th February 2021 ?
I can confirm that 18 polling places were changed to alternative premises,
a combination of 14 new premises and 4 which were ‘merged’ with
neighbouring polling places.
 
Thanks,
 
Graham Walton
Democratic Services Manager
Chief Executive’s Department
London Borough of Bromley
Civic Centre, Stockwell Close
Bromley, BR1 3UH
Tel. 020 8461 7743
[1][email address]
[2]www.bromley.gov.uk
 
 
 

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