Key Facts

• Fans have been supplied to Committee Room 14.
• Sir David Amess will arrange for fans to be shared with those who need them.
• The new clause aims to mitigate risks related to electoral data from the pandemic.
• The current boundary review would use December 1, 2020, as a reference date for registered electors.
• Smith proposes using March 2, 2020, instead to capture pre-pandemic registration data.
• General election registers are not officially published by the Office for National Statistics.
• Using general election data from 1997 for boundary reviews starting in 2000 would have been two and a half years outdated.
• Online voter registration can take as little as five minutes.
• The Government's new clause 1 corrects using December of this year as the basis for the register, which recognises the impact of covid-19 on local authorities.
• Approximately half a million people registered to vote between 1 and 12 December 2019, increasing electoral registrations in 94% of constituencies.
• There is concern about potential hundreds of thousands of people falling off the electoral register between December 2019 and March 2020.
• The new clause adjusts the permissible range in a constituency’s electorate to up to 7.5% above or below the electoral quota.
• It involves amending rule 2(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the 1986 Act by substituting '95%' with '92.5%'.
• It also involves amending rule 2(1)(b) by substituting '105%' with '107.5%'.
• The Bill has a restrictive 5% quota tolerance that makes it difficult for the Boundary Commission to consider other factors like community ties and natural geography.
• Expanding the variance to 7.5% would remove problematic counties from needing cross-county constituencies: Bedfordshire, Cleveland, County Durham, Cumbria, East Sussex, Gloucestershire and North Yorkshire.
• A proposed boundary in Wales would stretch 97 miles, making it hard for an MP to effectively represent such a large and diverse area.
• Experts agree that the 5% rule causes significant disruption to community boundaries.
• The Council of Europe Venice Commission recommends a standard permissible tolerance of 10% from the electoral quota.
• A larger quota allows flexibility for commissioners to ensure proposals respect Cornish identity and protect national minorities.
• A move from a 5% variance to about 7.5% would create constituencies that are more representative, with a difference worth approximately 2,000 electors per constituency.
• Sir David Amess is addressing the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill.
• The Bill deals with constituency boundary reviews and population shifts due to housing developments.
• Sir David emphasizes focusing on getting constituencies close to an average size at the start of each review cycle, rather than relying solely on maximum variance tolerances.
• The boundary commission's line is drawn at a particular moment but does not consider future building developments.
• In rural areas, wards are often between 1,000 to 2,000 people, while in metropolitan areas they range from 8,000 to 10,000.
• The OSCE recommendation states that the total variation should seldom exceed 10% and never 15%, except in exceptional circumstances.
• The MP references past boundary reviews that were abandoned due to House disapproval.
• Over 50% of changes in previous reviews were made in response to representations.
• The speaker trusts public engagement and representation to correct any mistakes by the boundary commission.
• Clive Efford supports a new clause tabled by his colleague.
• The current rigid use of 5% tolerance is criticised for its inflexibility.
• Expert Dr Rossiter recommends an increase to around 8%, based on previous research.
• The government programme aims for a rigid 5% quota but experts suggest a tolerance up to 8%.
• Local electoral registration officers have data down to street level which could help in avoiding orphan wards.
• Chris Clarkson's analysis of north-west constituencies shows few fall within the strict 5%, 7.5%, or even 10% quotas.
• New clause 2 aims to balance equal-sized constituencies with community interests.
• Growth in certain regions, like south-east England, is projected to lead to extra seats.
• Community ties and first past the post voting system's importance have been discussed by multiple Committee members.
• The current constituencies are far from equal, with some having up to 97,000 constituents while others have only 43,000.
• Professor Charles Pattie's evidence supports the notion of an equalisation rule as a top priority.
• Dr Alan Renwick stated that numbers around 5% to 10% are appropriate in comparison with international standards.
• New clause aims to protect representation in devolved nations by securing a minimum number of constituencies.
• Amendment (a) proposes changing '35' to '40' for Welsh constituencies.
• Scotland must be allocated at least 59 constituencies, including two protected ones.
• Northern Ireland must be allocated at least 18 constituencies.
• Devolution has led to inconsistent representation across the UK.
• Wales lost no seats in 2005 when Scotland reduced from 72 to 59.
• Rural areas like Brecon and Radnor face sparsity issues affecting constituency sizes.
• The Committee decided on a tight 5% tolerance, complicating geographical considerations.
• A proposed constituency would stretch from Westminster to Nottingham in England's scale.
• The population of Wales grew by 200,000 between 2001 and 2018.
• Based on projections from the Office for National Statistics, Wales will likely lose about eight seats initially followed by one or two more at each subsequent review every eight years due to slower population growth compared to other parts of the UK.
• The MP suggests focusing on how to maintain representation for the nations in a Union of four.
• The hon. Member supports the new clause tabled by his colleague.
• There is concern about the impact on Welsh MPs if strict demographic averages are applied.
• Inner-city constituencies face challenges compared to rural ones with large geographical areas.
• The hon. Gentleman argues that voters understand differences between various legislatures.
• Constituents have MPs, local councillors, and MSPs in addition to former MEPs.
• Legislative powers are returning from Brussels to Westminster.
• There is a need for wider recognition of how to deal with quotas under a quasi-federal system.
• The Bill provides for independent boundary reviews but does not address the wider constitutional settlement.
• On 2019 ONS data, removing protected constituencies shows a difference of over 7,600 electors between England and other nations.
• Scotland and Wales would have approximately 66,000 electors per MP compared to Northern Ireland's 72,000 and England's almost 74,000.
• The Parliamentary Constituencies Bill aims to balance community and geographical considerations.
• New Clause 4 proposes defining the electorate as those on the electoral register at the last General Election before the review date.
• New Clause 5 substitutes "12,000" with "9,000" in Rule 4(2)(a) of Schedule 2 to the 1986 Act for Highland constituencies.
• Highland North constituency proposed by the Boundary Commission for Scotland covers 12,985 sq km.
• It comprises 16.66% of Scotland's total area.
• The three largest proposed constituencies in Scotland cover an area larger than Belgium.
• Charles Kennedy, former MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, described the impracticality of managing such vast constituencies.
• The proposed amendment seeks to lower the threshold for large constituencies from 12,000 sq km to 9,000 sq km.
• Rule 4 in the second schedule of the 1986 Act relates specifically to constituencies that are over 12,000 sq km.
• In the 2018 boundary review based on 600 seats, only one constituency exceeded 12,000 sq km and was within tolerance range without needing additional flexibility.
• Boundary commissions have always worked by grouping areas and designing constituencies within those areas.
• The current rule allows for a plus or minus 5% variation in constituency design.
• Rule 7 in Northern Ireland allows for the use of a specific quota to reinstate full numerical flexibility.
• The current rule in Northern Ireland allows boundary commissions to apply a more generous variance range if the overall electorate is significantly higher than expected.
• The proposed new clause would require that any grouping of five or more constituencies, with combined electorates exceeding the UK electoral quota by over one-third, be eligible for similar flexibility under a different variance range.
• The MP acknowledges concerns about potential controversy and complexity in applying this rule to other regions.
• Local authority areas are not periodically reviewed but may undergo changes due to new housing developments or other triggers.
• Only 10 local authority area reviews have been conducted since 1995 in Scotland, with two affecting the speaker's constituency.
• The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 abolished interim reviews of UK parliamentary constituencies.
• The new clause would give a boundary commission discretion to submit reports on realignment of constituencies with local authority boundaries.
• Provision for interim reviews was removed under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011.
• Under the Bill, boundary reviews will be held every eight years.
• Sir David Amess extends his thanks to Mr Paisley for chairing the Committee.
• He acknowledges the support provided by officials, Hansard writers, and Doorkeepers throughout the Bill process.
• The Clerk is thanked specifically for their guidance during the proceedings.