§ Mr. Wigginasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the population, rateable value and area of the proposed counties of Avon and Somerset, respectively, and combined together, and a table showing the relative position of each figure in comparison with all other non-metropolitan counties.
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§ Mr. Graham PageInformation regarding the population and rateable value of the proposed new counties in England (as they are defined in the Local Government Bill) was published in my Department's circular No. 84/71 dated 4th November, 1971, copies of which were placed in the Vote Office.
The following table indicates the estimated areas of the non-metropolitan counties:
If these 38 proposed non-metropolitan counties are listed in order of population, Avon ranks ninth, Somerset thirty-fifth and the two counties combined fourth. If listed in order of rateable value, Avon would rank seventh, Somerset thirty-fifth and the two counties combined fifth. If listed in order of size Avon would rank thirty fifth, Somerset sixteenth and the two counties combined seventh.
County Area (Acres) Avon 346,902 Bedfordshire 303,901 Berkshire 274,270 Buckinghamshire 464,536 Cambridgeshire 868,228 Cheshire 555,048 Cornwall 876,295 Cumbria 1,682,965 Derbyshire 637,756 Devon 1,688,190 Dorset 702,822 Durham 597,487 East Sussex 444,918 Essex 812,649 Gloucestershire 674,399 Hampshire 973,035 Hertfordshire 403,816 Humberside 886,236 Kent 975,977 Lancashire 746,838 Leicestershire 630,836 Lincolnshire 1,388,819 Malvernshire 969,807 Norfolk 1,329,409 North Yorkshire 1,918,386 Northamptonshire 583,405 Northumberland 1,209,055 Nottinghamshire 535,732 Oxfordshire 645,332 Salop 862,340 Somerset 853,677 Staffordshire 670,539 Suffolk 1,108,677 Surrey 396,240 Teesside 285,250 Warwickshire 457,838 West Sussex 488,965 Wiltshire 860,602