§ Mr. FabricantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 25 June,Official Report, column 79, what factors led Ordnance Survey not to produce (a) county maps and (b) maps on a larger scale showing the new parliamentary boundaries; what assessment he has made of the legibility of the boundary lines of the maps proposed for issue in respect of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [35100]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordOrdnance Survey is responsible for the official, definite mapping of Great Britain; Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland is responsible for the mapping of the Province.
Ordnance Survey maintains a definitive dataset of electoral boundaries which are offered for sale as a computer-readable digital map product called boundary-line. This product has been well received by the market and reduced the potential market for the traditional paper sheets.
In reviewing its series of administrative maps, all of which needed revising to take account of parliamentary and local government boundary reviews, Ordnance Survey weighed up the diminished market against the costs of revising and reprinting some 56 map sheets and took an economic decision to discontinue printing the county maps. Parliamentary boundaries are now shown on two sheets, and local authority boundaries on a further nine sheets.
More detailed versions of the new parliamentary boundaries are in the course of being produced. When complete they will be available as large-scale data.