Select committee report published
The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons has today published its report and recommendations, following its recent inquiry ‘What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?’ This 8th Report of the Committee in the 2014-15 Session, together with all the evidence submitted to the inquiry, can be obtained from the Committee page on the House of Commons website.
The Commission notes the attention the select committee has given to this important subject, examining in detail the experience of the changes to the constituency review process brought about in 2011, and looking ahead to the next constituency review, scheduled to commence early in 2016.
The Commission does not take a view on the key substantive recommendations concerning the permitted tolerance from the electoral quota figure and the number of MPs, but particularly welcomes the Committee’s explicit recognition that any changes to the legislative framework that governs our work should be implemented without delay, in order to allow the Commissions adequate time to properly plan, prepare and deliver the next review in accordance with any new rules.
In the context of our current statutory report date of 2018, a timely Government response to these recommendations would assist that work and, if any changes are to be made as a result, the Commission stands ready to support Parliament in the provision of advice on practical issues of implementation, as appropriate.