Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 (Amendment) Order 2009

That clears that up. The 26 district council areas vary greatly in size, from Moyle, which has about 10,000 people, to Belfast, which has maybe 250,000 people. That is why we are having a reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland. It is essential that 100 people, or various groups of 100 people in each district council area, know what is being proposed. If there is just a little notice in the weekly paper stating that the information is available at some address, people will not follow it up. They have to see what is happening. There will be a lot of criticism if they do not know what is being recommended. It is not often that I recommend something that applies in the Republic of Ireland, but I know what happens there, and it is quite sensible. Local weekly newspapers are contacted and asked to print a supplement at a special advertising rate. That works. I recommend that we apply that in Northern Ireland to involve as many of the population as possible in seeing what is happening and having the right to comment on it and to submit recommendations or alternatives. It is important that these things go into local papers. For example, in Downpatrick, the local paper, the Down Recorder—in which I have no interest—sells more copies than the Belfast Telegraph, the News Letter and the Irish News combined. In Dungannon, more copies of the Tyrone Courier are sold than the Belfast Telegraph, the News Letter and the Irish News combined. Noble Lords can see the importance of weekly papers, as opposed to daily papers or papers such as the News of the World. There is of course a suggestion—in fact, it was an allegation, which is about to be followed up—that there is a conflict of interest if an outside agency advises on advertising policy for elections in Northern Ireland. I know that a newspaper group, with which I have no association whatever, is concerned about current electoral advertising policy; it has now employed one of the universities to investigate present government advertising policy and to advise whether the Government are getting value for money. Its report will become available for debate here in Parliament and in the Northern Ireland Assembly at the beginning of next year.