News Release

Issued on behalf of The Boundary Commission for Scotland

Not for Publication, Broadcast or use on Club Tapes before 0001 Hours on 7 February 2002

Proposals for Revised Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in Scotland

Changes to the statutory rules, as set out in The Scotland Act 1998, require that,, for the first periodical review following the introduction of The Scotland AAct1998, the electoral quota for England (69,934) must be used to establish the appropriate number of Scottish seats; a further change to the rules removes the requirement that there be a minimum number of 71 Scottish seats at Westminster. Applying the electoral quota for England provides a theoretical entitlement to 57 Scottish seats. However, after completing its detailed considerations, the Boundary Commission for Scotland provisionally recommends that there should be 59 Scottish seats at the Westminster Parliament.

In view of the extent of the changes brought about by The Scotland Act, the Commission has decided that details of its provisional recommendations for all Scottish constituencies should be published simultaneously.

Provisional Recommendations for Constituencies

At an early stage in its deliberations, the Commission established the theoretical entitlement of seats for each local authority in Scotland by applying the English electoral quota. Where the number of parliamentary electors within a local authority is broadly in line with the electoral quota, the Commission determined that, wherever practicable, the boundary of the local authority and parliamentary constituency should be coterminous. The provisional recommendations include 9 constituencies which each comprise the area of an individual local authority. (Included in this group are proposals for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar where the electorate falls substantially short of the electoral quota but, having regard to the detached nature of the Council area, the Commission concluded that it should form a single constituency.)

In the case of 5 local authority areas, the size of the electorate gives a theoretical entitlement to two or more constituencies that vary only marginally from the electoral quota. The Commission, therefore, recommends that for these 5 areas the constituencies should not breach local authority boundaries.

In the case of 18 local authority areas, the theoretical entitlement to constituencies is such that a satisfactory constituency structure within the terms of the statutory rules is not achievable without breaching local authority boundaries. In these cases the Commission considers that it is necessary to combine two or more local authorities to enable the formulation of acceptable provisional recommendations. The Commission has, however, sought to minimise the number of occasions where constituencies cross local authority boundaries.

Area Recommendations

For Aberdeen City Council area and Aberdeenshire Council area the combined electorate is 336,769, giving an entitlement for the area of 5 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 2 burgh constituencies and 3 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 5 constituencies are:

Aberdeen North Burgh Constituency 66,642

Aberdeen South Burgh Constituency 69,332

Banff, Buchan and Huntly County Constituency 71,275

Gordon County Constituency 67,353

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine County Constituency 62,167

For Angus Council area and Dundee City Council area the combined electorate is 197,401, giving an entitlement for the area of 3 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 2 burgh constituencies and 1 county constituency. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 3 constituencies are:

Dundee East Burgh Constituency 65,059

Dundee West Burgh Constituency 67,751

Angus County Constituency 64,591

For Argyll and Bute Council area the June 2001 electorate is 69,587. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Argyll and Bute County Constituency 69,587

For Clackmannanshire Council area and Perth and Kinross Council area the combined electorate is 142,456, giving an entitlement for the area of 2 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 2 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 2 constituencies are:

Perth and Atholl County Constituency 73,523

Strathearn and Ochil County Constituency 68,933

For Comhairle nan Eilean Siar area the June 2001 electorate is 21,884. Having considered the potential for linking the Council area with other parts of Scotland, the Commission concludes that the area of the present Western Isles County Constituency should remain unchanged, although the name of the constituency should be altered. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Na h-Eileanan An Iar County Constituency 21,884

For Dumfries and Galloway Council area, Scottish Borders Council area, and South Lanarkshire Council area the combined electorate is 441,683, giving an entitlement for the area of 6 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 1 burgh and 5 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 6 constituencies are:

Rutherglen and Hamilton West Burgh Constituency 75,370

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk County Constituency 72,430

Dumfries and Galloway County Constituency 74,837

East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow County Constituency 77,257

Lanark and Hamilton East County Constituency 76,173

Peebles, Clydesdale and Annandale County Constituency 65,615

For East Dunbartonshire Council area and North Lanarkshire Council area the combined electorate is 332,981, giving an entitlement for the area of 5 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 1 burgh and 4 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 5 constituencies are:

Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill Burgh Constituency 67,647

Airdrie and Shotts County Constituency 63,321

Bearsden, Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch West County Constituency 66,724

Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East County Constituency 67,802

Motherwell and Wishaw County Constituency 67,487

For East Ayrshire Council area, North Ayrshire Council area and South Ayrshire Council area the combined electorate is 289,424, giving an entitlement for the area of 4 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 4 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 4 constituencies are:

Ayr, New Cumnock and Carrick County Constituency 71,498

Irvine, Troon and Prestwick County Constituency 68,703

Kilmarnock, Stewarton and Cumnock County Constituency 76,041

North Ayrshire and Isle of Arran County Constituency 73,182

For East Lothian Council area the June 2001 electorate is 71,288. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

East Lothian County Constituency 71,288

For East Renfrewshire Council area the June 2001 electorate is 69,249. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends that the Council area should continue to form a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Eastwood County Constituency 69,249

For The City of Edinburgh Council area the electorate is 364,542, giving an entitlement for the area of 5 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 5 burgh constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 5 constituencies are:

Edinburgh North East Burgh Constituency 69,952

Edinburgh North West Burgh Constituency 75,087

Edinburgh South Burgh Constituency 76,090

Edinburgh South East Burgh Constituency 73,760

Edinburgh West Burgh Constituency 69,653

For Falkirk Council area and West Lothian Council area the combined electorate is 233,254, giving an entitlement for the area of 3 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 3 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 3 constituencies are:

Falkirk County Constituency 78,176

Linlithgow County Constituency 78,780

Livingston County Constituency 76,298

For Fife Council area the electorate is 278,848, giving an entitlement for the area of 4 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 4 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 4 constituencies are:

Dunfermline and West Fife County Constituency 70,373

Glenrothes County Constituency 69,499

Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath County Constituency 74,163

North East Fife County Constituency 64,813

For Glasgow City Council area the electorate is 483,077, giving an entitlement for the area of 7 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 7 burgh constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 7 constituencies are:

Glasgow Central Burgh Constituency 70,378

Glasgow East Burgh Constituency 70,167

Glasgow North Burgh Constituency 63,729

Glasgow North East Burgh Constituency 70,899

Glasgow North West Burgh Constituency 67,087

Glasgow South Burgh Constituency 74,482

Glasgow South West Burgh Constituency 66,335

For Highland Council area the electorate is 163,867, giving an entitlement for the area of 2.3 seats. However, bearing in mind the geography, topography, settlement pattern and communication links in the area, the Commission provisionally recommends 3 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 3 constituencies are:

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross County Constituency 46,533

Inverness and Badenoch County Constituency 67,790

Ross, Skye and Lochaber County Constituency 49,544

For Inverclyde Council area the June 2001 electorate is 65,485. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Inverclyde County Constituency 65,485

For Midlothian Council area the June 2001 electorate is 62,787. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Midlothian County Constituency 62,787

For Orkney Islands Council area and Shetland Islands Council area changes to the statutory rules prevent the Commission from combining either of these areas with any other area in Scotland to form a constituency which has an electorate broadly in line with the electoral quota. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends that these Council areas together should continue to form a single county constituency. The name, designation and June 2001 electorate of the proposed constituency is:

Orkney and Shetland County Constituency 32,181

For Renfrewshire Council area the electorate is 136,680, giving an entitlement for the area of 2 seats. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends 2 county constituencies. The names, designations and June 2001 electorates of the 2 constituencies are:

North Renfrewshire and Paisley North County Constituency 68,855

South Renfrewshire and Paisley South County Constituency 67,825

For Stirling Council area the June 2001 electorate is 66,393. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Stirling County Constituency 66,393

For The Moray Council area the June 2001 electorate is 63,959. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

Moray County Constituency 63,959

For West Dunbartonshire Council area the June 2001 electorate is 71,694. The Commission, therefore, provisionally recommends a single county constituency. The name and designation of the proposed constituency is:

West Dunbartonshire County Constituency 71,694

Notes for Editors

Maps of Current and Proposed Constituencies

The Commission has produced two sets of maps, one showing current constituency boundaries and the other its provisional proposals. The relevant maps are displayed at selected Council Offices, Libraries etc. within the existing Parliamentary constituencies. The maps are also available in PDF format on the Commission’s website at www.bcomm-scotland.gov.uk.

The Commission wishes to emphasise that its provisional proposals have, of course, no implications for the structure of, or the services provided by, local authorities.

Rules for Redistribution

The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 contains the rules for the redistribution of seats. Section 86 of the Scotland Act 1998 made a number of changes to the 1986 Act Schedule 2 rules, the outcome of which was as follows:

§ Rule 1(2) was removed: there is now no minimum number of Scottish seats at Westminster.

§ Rule 3A was inserted: a constituency which includes the Orkney Islands or the Shetland Islands shall not include the whole or part of any other local authority area.

§ Rule 5 was altered: for the first review following the Scotland Act 1998, the electoral quota for England must be used to determine the appropriate number of Scottish seats at Westminster.

§ Rule 7 was modified: rule 3A, regarding the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands (see above), cannot be disregarded.

The rules for the redistribution of seats as set out in the 1986 Act provide that: the number of electors of each constituency is to be as nearly equal as possible but, in formulating its proposals, the Commission is required to have regard to local authority boundaries. In addition, the Commission can depart from these rules if special geographical considerations make this desirable or if the changes cause inconvenience or break local ties. The interpretation of the rules is a matter for the discretion of the Commission.

The Scotland Act requires the Commission to apply the electoral quota for England at the enumeration date in February 2000 (69,934) throughout the period of the review.

The Commission has used the local government electoral wards, which came into effect at the local elections in May 1999, as the basis for its provisional recommendations. Proposed Parliamentary constituencies comprise groups of whole local government electoral wards.

Representations

The Commission is required by statute to consider any representations concerning its provisional recommendations made within a limited period of one month from the date of publication of the statutory notice. Representations should be addressed to The Secretary, Boundary Commission for Scotland, 3 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7QJ. Statutory notices published in newspapers circulating within local areas provide details of the arrangements for making representations by e-mail or fax. Copies of the statutory notices are also available at the locations where maps are displayed for public consultation. The representation period ends on 6 March 2002.

Where representations objecting to a provisional recommendation are made by an interested local authority, or by a body of 100 or more electors resident in the constituency, the Commission cannot proceed with its final recommendations to the Secretary of State for Scotland until a local inquiry has been held. If, after considering the result of the inquiry, the Commission decides to alter any recommendation, the revised recommendation must then be published; a further local inquiry may be held, but is not obligatory.

Those who make representations are requested to state whether they approve of, or object to, the Commission’s proposals and to give their reasons for approval or objection. In particular, objectors are advised to state what they propose in place of the Commission’s recommendations and should note that an objection accompanied by an alternative proposal is likely to carry more weight than a simple statement of objection.

The Scotland Act 1998

Once its recommendations for Scottish seats at Westminster have been finalised, the Commission must address its obligations under The Scotland Act in respect of the number of additional members at the Scottish Parliament and the boundaries of the regions for which they are to be returned.

A consultation paper regarding the number of seats at the Scottish Parliament and associated issues has recently been published by the Secretary of State for Scotland. This consultation exercise has no implications for the Commission’s provisional recommendations for the Westminster Parliament.

Implementation of the Recommendations

The Commission is required to report on the review for the whole of Scotland by December 2006. The Commission’s recommendations in respect of its obligations under both the 1986 Act and 1998 Act must be contained in a single report to the Secretary of State for Scotland. It is the Secretary of State for Scotland’s duty to lay the Commission’s report before the UK Parliament together with a draft Order in Council giving effect to the recommendations with or without modifications. The draft Order is submitted to both Houses of Parliament for approval and the new constituency boundaries take effect at the next UK general election after the making of the order.

A copy of the Commission’s report must also be laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Contact for Further Information:

R Smith 0131 538 7201