Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the timetable of work of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[pursuant to his reply, 6 July 1987]: The Parliamentary Boundary Commission has a duty to keep the distribution of seats under continuous review. It is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to carry out reviews of all the constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every 10 to 15 years. In the interval between general reviews, it may review particular areas in interim reviews.
The Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England is at present completing its second 1986 interim review, covering 55 constituencies. The commission's report on 53 of those constituencies was laid before the House on 6 May 1986; a further report on the two remaining constituencies is expected later in the year. The commission is also required by the European Assembly Elections Act 1978 to submit a supplementary report to the Home Secretary on European Parliament constituencies which would take account of the minor alterations to constituency boundaries made during the interim reviews carried out since 1983. The commission submitted its third periodical report, after its last general review on 1 February 1983. Its fourth periodical report after the next general review should he submitted between 1 February 1993 and 31 January 1998. 1 understand that the review is unlikely to begin before 1990.