The District Electoral Areas Commissioner (Northern Ireland)(Amendment) Order 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the District Electoral Areas Commissioner (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 (S.I.1984/360)(“1984 Order”).

The boundaries and names of local government districts and their wards can be altered by an Order made under section 50(10) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 (c. 9 (N.I.)) (“1972 Act”) following the recommendations of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner. Under the 1984 Order, the District Electoral Areas Commissioner (“Commissioner”) could only be appointed after such an Order had been made. Articles 3 and 4 of this Order substitute articles 2 and 3 of the 1984 Order to enable the Secretary of State to appoint the Commissioner as soon as practicable after the appointment of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner under the 1972 Act. This enables the Commissioner to be appointed at an earlier stage of the process. The Commissioner is required to make recommendations to the Secretary of State for the grouping of wards into district electoral areas as soon as practicable after an Order giving effect to the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner's recommendations has been made (article 2(2) and 3(2) of the 1984 Order as substituted by this Order).

Article 5 adds the Chief Survey Officer of Ordnance Survey for Northern Ireland to the list of assessors to the Commissioner in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the 1984 Order.