Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 263, whether it remains his policy to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies from 650 to 600.

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies (PVSC) Act 2011 provides for the number of constituencies to be reduced from 650 to 600 and the Government remains committed to equalising the size of constituencies in order to make votes of more equal value. The Government will outline its plans for constituency boundaries when it responds to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report, What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?, in due course.

The Boundary Commissions are due to commence work on their next reviews of Parliamentary constituencies in spring 2016 in order to submit final reports by 1 October 2018. If approved, the new constituencies would take effect at the next General Election.