§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the population and acreage of (a) the city of Londonderry and (b) the district of Derry.
§ Mr. HurdInformation on(a) is not available since, following local government reorganisation in 1973, urban areas are not statutorily defined. The population of the district, estimated at 30 June 1983, is 96,100. The district comprises 38,250 hectares.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has been notified of Derry city council's objection to the revision of the local government electoral boundaries in Derry.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement detailing his response to the objection by Derry city council to the revised electoral boundaries for Derry.
§ Mr. HurdThe report and final recommendations of the District Electoral Areas Commissioner were laid before Parliament on 5 December. No objection was raised to them in Parliament at that time. The recommendations were subsequently incorporated, without modification, in the schedule to the draft District Electoral Areas (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which was laid before Parliament on 19 December 1984, and which is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.
I am satisfied that the commissioner provided adequate opportunity for representations on his provisional recommendations to be made at public hearings before himself and his assistant commissioners prior to completing his report and making his final recommendations. Having studied the commissioner's recommendations with care, I am satisfied that it would not have been right to make any modifications to them.