§ Sir Eldon GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if cost/benefit considerations are or can be taken into account by the local government boundaries commission before it makes recommendations for county boundary changes; and what steps he is taking to analyse the costs of such changes before reaching his own conclusions.
§ Mr. GummerNeither the Commission nor my right hon. Friend is specifically required to take account of the cost of proposed boundary changes, or to quantify expected benefits. By the Local Government Act 1972, however, the commission's proposals and, thus, my right hon. Friend's decisions, must be
in the interests of effective and convenient local government".This criterion must include a very broad range of social and economic factors, and their effects over the longer term as well as the short term. Assessment may be helped if such factors can be quantified. The commission has therefore initiated research to find out how far such analysis is feasible.