Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Local Government Boundary Commission for England

Thursday 22 May 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Blake Stephenson asked about the resources allocated to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, noting its importance for local representation.
  • The Minister responded that 500,000 has been allocated to the commission, which will be reviewed periodically.
  • Dame Meg Hillier inquired if there have been discussions about merging the Boundary Commission for England and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to better resource them.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Blake Stephenson Con Mid Bedfordshire
Local Government
Context

The Local Government Boundary Commission is managing its work programme in response to the 'English Devolution' White Paper and conducting periodic electoral reviews. Blake Stephenson, a Central Bedfordshire councillor, raises concerns about resources.

Question

I declare an interest: I am a Central Bedfordshire councillor. It is important that the boundary commission delivers electoral arrangements that provide strong local representation throughout English devolution. Will the hon. Member assure the House that resources available to the commission with be sufficient to ensure that representation is not sacrificed on the basis of arbitrary timelines for devolution?

Answer from Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)

The hon. Member raises a good point and has some good inside information. Some £500,000 has been allocated, but the committee will keep that under periodic review in co-operation with the commission.

Answered
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Q2 Meg Hillier Labour (Co-op) Hackney South and Shoreditch
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The Local Government Boundary Commission has been allocated £500,000 to manage its work programme. Dame Meg Hillier asks about the possibility of amalgamating or pooling resources between two boundary commissions in England.

Question

It is right that we have properly resourced boundary commissions, but we have more than one in England: the Boundary Commission for England and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Have there been conversations at the Electoral Commission or elsewhere about amalgamating those two commissions or pooling resources in order to save taxpayer money?

Answer from Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)

I am not aware of such conversations at the moment, but I will raise that with the commission on her behalf.

Partly answered

Not addressed: concrete discussions or plans for amalgamation/resource pooling have not been mentioned

How: Not Aware

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