§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the areas where the boundaries for local authority wards for 1999 elections have not yet been determined. [60394]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo date, we have received reports from the Local Government Boundary Commission covering 17 authorities as follows: Neath Port Talbot, Denbighshire, Swansea, Powys, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Pembrokeshire, Conwy, the Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Newport, Gwynedd and Cardiff.
The recommendations made by the Commission in all but Newport, Vale of Glamorgan and Gwynedd have been accepted and will be implemented in time for the 1999 elections. Draft orders will be laid before the House shortly.
We have recently asked the Commission to look again at its recommendations for Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan.
A revised report covering Gwynedd was submitted to us by the Commission in September. This was then subject to a statutory six week consultation period, which has only recently finished. We will be considering the Commission's proposals for Gwynedd shortly. If agreed, it will be too late for implementation by the May 1999 elections as preparations for these elections are already in hand.
The Commission has until December 1999 to report on electoral arrangements in Anglesey, Ceredigion, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, and Torfaen.