§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what criteria the Local Government Boundary Commission must follow in the creation of local authority ward boundaries. [99762]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe Local Government Commission's statutory criteria for electoral reviews are to secure effective and convenient local government and to reflect the interests and identities of local communities. They must also take into account statutory rules which include that the number of local government electors shall be, as nearly as may be, the same in every ward of the district; that every ward of a parish with a parish council shall lie wholly within a single ward of the district; and have regard to the desirability of fixing boundaries which are and will remain easily identifiable.