§ The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Paul Murphy)The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992, requires that the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland undertake periodical reviews of60WS constituencies in Northern Ireland. The commission are required to submit a report to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland not less than eight or more than twelve years from their last report. The present review commenced on 16 May 2003.
The commission are announcing their provisional recommendations for constituencies in Northern Ireland today. The proposals are to be made available for public inspection at district council headquarters and electoral offices, public libraries and at the offices of the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Commission to coincide with the formal publication of the provisional recommendations on 6 May. The commission are required to take into consideration any representations made within one month of publication of the proposals.
I will, of course, report back to Parliament once the commission has made its final recommendations.