HL Deb 10 October 2000 vol 617 cc308-10

Preliminary

1. The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 shall be amended as follows.

Duty to keep under review, and report on, parliamentary representation

2.—(1) Section 3 (reports of the Commissions) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1), for the words from "Each Boundary Commission" to "the whole of that part" there shall be substituted "The Electoral Commission shall keep under review the representation in the House of Commons of each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and shall, in accordance with subsection (2) below, submit to the Secretary of State separate reports with respect to the whole of each of those parts".

(3) For subsection (2) there shall be substituted—

"(2) Reports under subsection (1) with respect to a particular part of the United Kingdom shall be submitted by the Electoral Commission not less than eight nor more than twelve years from the date of the last report under that subsection with respect to that part of the United Kingdom."

(4) In subsection (2A), for "a Boundary Commission" there shall be substituted "the Electoral Commission".

(5) In subsection (3)—

  1. (a) for "Any Boundary Commission" there shall be substituted "The Electoral Commission"; and
  2. (b) for "the part of the United Kingdom with which they are concerned" there shall be substituted "any part of the United Kingdom".

(6) In subsection (4), for "a Boundary Commission" there shall be substituted "the Electoral Commission".

(7) In subsection (5)—

  1. (a) for "a Boundary Commission" there shall be substituted "the Electoral Commission"; and
  2. (b) for "the Commission are" there shall be substituted "the report is".

(8) In subsection (7)—

  1. (a) for "a Boundary Commission under subsection (1) above" there shall be substituted "the Electoral Commission under subsection (1) above with respect to a particular part of the United Kingdom";
  2. (b) for "of the Commission under subsection (1) above" there shall be substituted "under subsection (1) above with respect to that part of the United Kingdom"; and
  3. (c) for "a Boundary Commission publishing" there shall be substituted "a Boundary Committee publishing under section 5 below".

(9) For the sidenote for section 3 there shall be substituted "Reports of the Electoral Commission."

(10) In section 3(2) and (7), as amended by this paragraph, any reference to a previous report under section 3(1) with respect to a particular part of the United Kingdom includes a reference to such a report which, at any time before the coming into force of this paragraph in relation to that part, was made with respect to that part by one of the Boundary Commissions constituted under the Act.

Functions of Boundary Committees

3. After section 3 there shall be inserted—

"Reviews and proposed recommendations by Boundary Committees.

3A.—(1) Where the Electoral Commission intend to consider making a report under this Act ("the section 3 report") with respect to—

  1. (a) a particular part of the United Kingdom, or
  2. (b) any area comprised in a particular part of the United Kingdom,
the Boundary Committee for that part of the United Kingdom shall (subject to subsection (4) below) carry out a review in accordance with this Act for the purpose of enabling them to submit to the Electoral Commission proposals as to the recommendations to be included in the section 3 report.

(2) Once the Boundary Committee have carried out a review under subsection (1) above, they shall accordingly submit to the Electoral Commission a report containing the recommendations which the Committee propose should be included in the section 3 report in the light of the review.

(3) Where the Electoral Commission have received a report of a Boundary Committee under subsection (2) above, the Commission may—

  1. (a) accept in full the proposed recommendations contained in that report and include them in the section 3 report;
  2. (b) accept those proposed recommendations subject to modifications agreed with the Committee and include them, as so modified, in the section 3 report;
  3. (c) reject those proposed recommendations and either—
    1. (i) require the Committee to reconsider their proposed recommendations with a view to deciding whether to submit a further report under subsection (2) above containing different proposed recommendations,
    2. (ii) require the Committee to carry out a fresh review under subsection (1) above with respect to the whole, or any specified part, of the area which was the subject of the original review, or
    3. (iii) (in the case only of a review carried out for the purposes of a report under section 3(3) above) take no further action.

(4) A Boundary Committee shall, in or in connection with the exercise or performance of their powers or duties under this Act, comply with any directions given to them by the Commission (so far as consistent with the rules set out in paragraphs 1 to 6 of Schedule 2 to this Act (read with paragraph 7)).

(5) In this Act—

  1. (a) "Boundary Committee" means a Boundary Committee established by the Electoral Commission under section 13 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000; and
  2. (b) "recommendations" includes (unless the context otherwise requires) a recommendation that no alteration is required."