10. Mr. J. Enoch Powellasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to receive the final report of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland.
§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Michael Alison)The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland is required to submit its report to my right hon. Friend before June 1984. I understand that the Commission hopes to be in a position to report well in advance of that date.
Mr. PowellDo the Government recognise that it is in the interests of the democratic process generally in Northern Ireland that the new constituencies, which will be radically different from the existing ones, should be known and determined as soon as possible? Will the Government ensure that there are no obstacles in the way of a much earlier announcement and order being laid before the House?
§ Mr. AlisonI assure the right hon. Gentleman that there are no governmental obstacles in the way of the earliest possible report by the commission, but the commission, is an independent body. I was able to tell the right hon. Gentleman in my substantive reply that the commission hopes to be in a position to report well in advance of the 1984 deadline.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonDoes my hon. Friend agree that the parliamentary representation in this House is inadequate numerically, and that, failing a satisfactory increase in the number of parliamentary representatives in this House, the Government should give serious consideration to the proper integration of Ulster and Northern Ireland into the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. AlisonIf I may give a purely quantitative reply to my hon. Friend's question, he will note that the Boundary Commission has proposed that there should in due course be 17 seats rather than the existing 12.