Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what model the Boundary Commission will employ in its new review of constituency boundaries in Wales.

The rules for boundary Reviews are set out in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011.

The rules stipulate that the number of constituencies is 600 and that all constituencies, subject to a limited number of exceptions, must be between 95% and 105% of the United Kingdom electoral quota, which is the average number of electors per constituency. Reviews are to be conducted every five years.

The rules are designed to ensure that there is fairness in the setting of parliamentary constituencies and having seats of an equal size will ensure everyone’s vote will carry equal weight.