Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986

[F15 Publicity and consultationU.K.

(1)Once a Boundary Commission have decided what constituencies they propose to recommend in a report under section 3(1)(a) above—

(a)the Commission shall take such steps as they think fit to inform people in each of the proposed constituencies—

(i)what the proposals are,

(ii)that a copy of the proposals is open to inspection at a specified place within the proposed constituency, and

(iii)that written representations with respect to the proposals may be made to the Commission during a specified period of [F2eight weeks] (“the initial consultation period”);

F3(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)Subsection (1)(a)(ii) above does not apply to a constituency with respect to which no alteration is proposed.

F4(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)After the end of the initial consultation period the Commission—

(a)shall publish, in such manner as they think fit, representations made as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above F5...;

(b)shall take such steps as they think fit to inform people in the proposed constituencies that further written representations with respect to the [F6representations] published under paragraph (a) above may be made to the Commission during a specified period of [F7eight weeks] (“the secondary consultation period”).

[F8(c)shall cause public hearings to be held at such times during the secondary consultation period as they think fit.]

[F9(4A)Schedule 2A contains further provision about public hearings under subsection (4)(c).

(4B)After the end of the secondary consultation period, the Commission—

(a)must publish, in such manner as they think fit, records of public hearings held under subsection (4)(c), and

(b)must take such steps as they think fit to inform people in the proposed constituencies that written representations with respect to those records may be made to the Commission during a specified period of eight weeks (“the third consultation period”).]

(5)If after the end of the secondary consultation period the Commission are minded to revise their original proposals so as to recommend different constituencies, they shall take such steps as they see fit to inform people in each of those revised proposed constituencies [F10before the beginning of the third consultation period]—

(a)what the revised proposals are,

(b)that a copy of the revised proposals is open to inspection at a specified place within the revised proposed constituency, and

(c)that written representations with respect to the revised proposals may be made to the Commission during [F11the third consultation period].

(6)Subsection (5) above does not apply to any proposals to make further revisions.

(7)Steps taken under subsection (4) [F12, (4B)] or (5) above need not be of the same kind as those taken under subsection (1) above.

(8)A Boundary Commission shall take into consideration—

(a)written representations duly made to them as mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (4)(b) [F13, (4B)(b)] or (5)(c) above, and

(b)representations made at public hearings under subsection [F14(4)(c)] above.

(9)Except as provided by this section and Schedule 2A to this Act, a Boundary Commission shall not cause any public hearing or inquiry to be held for the purposes of a report under this Act.

(10)Where a Boundary Commission publish—

(a)general information about how they propose to carry out their functions (including, in the case of the Boundary Commission for England, information about the extent (if any) to which they propose to take into account the boundaries mentioned in rule 5(2) of Schedule 2 to this Act), or

(b)anything else to which subsection (1), (4) [F15, (4B)] or (5) above does not apply,

it is for the Commission to determine whether to invite representations and, if they decide to do so, the procedure that is to apply.]

[F16(11)If the report mentioned in subsection (1) is a 2023 report, this section applies in relation to that report as if—

(a)in subsection (4)(b), the reference to eight weeks were a reference to six weeks, and

(b)in subsection (4B)(b), the reference to eight weeks were a reference to four weeks.

(12)In subsection (11), a “2023 report” means a report that is required by section 3(2) to be submitted before 1 July 2023.]

Textual Amendments

F5Words in s. 5(4)(a) omitted (14.12.2020) by virtue of Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 (c. 25), ss. 4(4), 14(2) (with s. 13(2))