Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 14 December 2005 be approved [14th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: My Lords, the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order will give effect to the recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales and will affect constituencies for both the Westminster Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. The Boundary Commission for Wales announced in December 2002 the start of its review of Welsh parliamentary constituencies and National Assembly for Wales electoral regions. It submitted its fifth periodical report of the Boundary Commission for Wales in January 2005. In May 2005, as part of the machinery of government changes, sponsorship responsibility for the Boundary Commission for Wales transferred from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs in the other place laid the report and a draft order before Parliament on 14 December 2005 and therefore fulfilled the Secretary of State’s obligation under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to lay a draft order before Parliament giving effect to the report. Before turning to the details of the order, I thank the Boundary Commission for Wales—that is, the right honourable Lord Justice Stephen Richards, who was the deputy chairman, and his fellow commissioners, Professor Kenneth George and Mrs Susan Smith, together with their expert advisers and secretariat—for its work in delivering its fifth periodic report. Noble Lords may question the amount of time that elapsed between the report being presented to the Government and it being laid before Parliament. In the run up to the 2005 general election, officials made a working assumption that delaying boundary changes in Wales would help the effective planning for the election. After the general election, the report was delayed by the transfer of sponsorship responsibility for the Boundary Commission for Wales between departments. There followed a need for consideration of representations received by my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs concerning some of the recommendations. However, noble Lords will be reassured to know that the Government laid the report and the draft order at the earliest opportunity. The Boundary Commission for Wales is required under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 continuously to keep Welsh parliamentary boundaries under review and to conduct a general review every eight to 12 years. In formulating the conclusions of its latest review, the Boundary Commission sought, in line with the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, to create constituencies that adhered as closely as possible to the electoral quota. This is a figure devised by dividing the total electorate in Wales by the number of seats. The figures used in this calculation were taken from the electoral register in December 2002. On that basis, the electoral quota was set at 55,640. Apart from the electoral quota, the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 requires that other factors be taken into consideration—these include special geographical considerations and community and transport links—to achieve the best possible outcome in drawing up new constituency boundaries. This is well illustrated by the Isle of Wight, which the Boundary Commission for England had previously recommended should remain a single parliamentary constituency in its own right given its geographical position, though the number of electors there—more than 100,000—could warrant part of the Isle of Wight being combined with electors from the UK mainland. I am aware that there were some local concerns expressed about aspects of some of the recommendations in the report—for example, the transfer of the Aberkenfig and Cefn Cribwr electoral divisions from the Bridgend constituency to the Ogmore constituency. These local concerns are perhaps inevitable given the nature of the work of the Boundary Commission and the implications that proposed changes will have for members of the public, elected representatives and political parties. However, interested parties were invited to attend public meetings prior to the Boundary Commission finalising its proposals. If interested parties objected to a specific recommendation, a public inquiry was held to discuss the issues and allow for counter proposals to be submitted. Independent legal experts—QCs—chaired these inquiries. The objections were considered, and the chair then recommended a course of action to be adopted in a report. The Government, having carefully considered representations that have been brought, have accepted the recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales. In conclusion, the Government are satisfied that the Boundary Commission has carried out a full review in reaching its conclusions and making its recommendations. The Government now need to complete the parliamentary process to give effect to the Boundary Commission report by agreeing the terms of the draft order. I therefore commend the draft order to the House. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 14 December 2005 be approved [14th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Evans of Temple Guiting.)