Frequently Asked Questions

About the Commission

What is the Boundary Commission for Scotland?
The Boundary Commission for Scotland is a public body which is responsible for determining constituency boundaries for Scotland. There's more information on the home page of the Commission's website.

What does the Commission do?
The Commission reviews constituencies in Scotland for the Westminster Parliament, and constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament. It makes recommendations to the Secretary of State for Scotland, who is responsible for putting those recommendations into practice. The Commission's job is defined by the law surrounding its work.

Who is on the Commission?
The Commission is formally chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons. In practice, meetings are chaired by the Deputy Chairman who is a Judge of the Court of Session. There are two other Commissioners, and two Assessors, who are the Registrar General for Scotland and the Director General of Ordnance Survey. There are details of the members of the Commission on the website. The Commission is supported by a Secretariat made up of a small number of staff. The website has contact details for the Commission and the Secretariat at the bottom of each page.

Who funds the Boundary Commission for Scotland?
The Boundary Commission for Scotland is funded through the Scotland Office.

What about other parts of the United Kingdom?
The Boundary Commission for Scotland is only responsible for constituencies in Scotland. There are similar Commissions for England, for Wales and for Northern Ireland. There are links to the websites of each of those organisations on this website.

What's the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland, and is it anything to do with you?
The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland is a separate body which is responsible for reviewing electoral ward and local authority area boundaries for Scotland. Full details are available on the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland website. The Secretariat supports both Commissions, and so the address and phone numbers for both Commissions are the same.

Constituencies

Why do you change constituencies?
The rules for constituencies require that there should be similar numbers of voters in each constituency, and that constituency boundaries should take account of local authority boundaries. Since the population in different parts of Scotland changes over time, and also local government boundaries change, constituency boundaries have to be reviewed to reflect those changes. The website has full details of the law, including the rules for designing constituencies.

How often do you review constituencies?
We are required to review constituency boundaries between every 8 and 12 years. The legislation sets those timescales, and the website has full details of the law about our work. The most recent review of Scottish Parliament constituencies reported in May 2010, and the most recent review of Westminster constituencies reported in November 2004.

Does the Commission recommend how many MPs and MSPs there should be?
For the Scottish Parliament, the number of MSPs is fixed by legislation as 129, made up of 73 constituency MSPs and 56 region MSPs. The Commission has no power to change this. For the Westminster Parliament, the Commission has limited power to recommend a different number of constituencies from the current 59.

Why am I in different constituencies for the Scottish Parliament and the Westminster Parliament?
For the Scottish Parliament, the number of constituencies is fixed by legislation as 73. For the Westminster Parliament, the law is different, and there are currently 59 constituencies. Therefore, the 2 sets of constituencies are unrelated to each other. Details of the legislation that determines the numbers of constituencies are available on the website.

Can you tell me the current number of electors in a constituency?
The Commission does not hold current electorate figures for constituencies. These can be obtained from the relevant page of the General Register Office for Scotland website: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/electoral-statistics/index.html.

How can I find out how constituencies fit with local authority areas?
We have Information Papers about Scottish Parliament and Westminster constituencies in Scotland which are available on the Publications section of this website. Each one lists the constituencies that cover each local authority area, and the wards that are covered by each constituency. There are also Information Papers about past constituencies in Scotland.

Postcodes

Can I find out which constituencies or Scottish Parliament region a postcode is in?
We have a Your Area section on this website which allows you to find out what Westminster constituency, Scottish Parliament constituency or Scottish Parliament region corresponds to a postcode, and download maps of those areas. Alternatively, both Parliament websites have a facility to look up the constituency for a postcode - follow these links for the Scottish Parliament or the UK Parliament.

How can I find out all the postcodes that are in a constituency?
The General Register Office for Scotland creates and maintains products which tabulate postcodes against other geographic areas, including constituencies. You can contact them to ask about obtaining these products by email at geographycustomerservices@gro-scotland.gsi.gov.uk, or through their website at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/geography-enquiries.html. The Your Area section on this website allows you to find out constituencies for a postcode, but not to create a list of all postcodes for a constituency.

What does the Your area search do when a postcode crosses a constituency boundary?
Where a postcode crosses a constituency boundary, the Your Area search will return the constituency that contains the central point (mathematically, the centroid) of the area covered by the postcode. Where a postcode crosses a local authority boundary, the search will return more than one set of maps.

Do constituencies contain whole postcodes?
Not always. Postcodes are designed by Royal Mail for the delivery of mail. As a result, their boundaries are not generally suitable as constituency boundaries, and are ill-defined in areas with sparse postal delivery points. Postcodes are not a factor which the Commission takes into account when making recommendations for boundaries.

The process of reviews

What is the process for reviewing constituencies?
The process that we follow for a review is largely defined by the law. For the recent review of Scottish Parliament constituencies, we produced a Descriptive Booklet explaining the process which is available through our Publications webpage. For the last review of Westminster Parliament constituencies, there is a similar Booklet available through the webpage for that review. The process can be summarised as:

the Commission develops Provisional Proposals
those proposals are published for public consultation
the Commission considers all representations made, holds local inquiries and produces Revised Recommendations if necessary
the Revised Recommendations are published for public consultation
the Commission considers any further representations made
any Further Recommendations are also published for public consultation
the Commission submits its report.

How do I find out what is going on?
We publish information about our current work on our website through the News and Reviews in Progress sections. We also produce News Releases which appear in newspapers. We also place formal Statutory Notices in newspapers at key stages of any review. At the public consultation stages of reviews, maps and other information about our proposals are available for inspection at locations such as public libraries and council offices.

What determines if a local inquiry is held?
A local inquiry is held depending on the comments received during a consultation. The law sets out that if a large number of objections are received, or if a local authority objects, then a local inquiry has to be held. The Commission can also decide that there should be a local inquiry even if those criteria are not met. The legislation governing the Commission's work is available on the website.

What are the rules for designing constituencies?
The rules for designing constituencies are set out in the law, and include the aim to produce constituencies whose electorate is as close to the average as practical, and the need to take account of local authority boundaries. Details of the legislation that sets those rules are available on the website.

Can I have a say?
Yes. The public consultation process is designed to allow everyone to express their view, for or against, on the Commission's proposals. You can do this by letter or email, using the contact details for the Commission given on the website. Views in support of the Commission's proposals are as important as those against.

How can I complain if I feel the Commission has not acted correctly?
If you have a complaint about our work, please discuss it with us. If after doing so you remain dissatisfied, you should ask your MP to send your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman which is the public body responsible for investigating complaints against public bodies answerable to the Westminster Parliament, including the Commission.

Maps

Can I buy a map of a constituency?
Not from us. Ordnance Survey publishes paper maps showing constituencies as part of its Administrative Boundary Map series which is available through specialist distributors called Mapping and Data Centres. Mapping and Data Centres may also be able to produce a customised map that is suitable for your requirements. Details of Mapping and Data Centres are available on the Ordnance Survey website at
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/partnerships/mdc/stockist.html.

Have you got maps of current constituencies?
There are PDF maps of all current constituencies available from the Maps section of this website. Some of the PDF files are large, so have a look at the questions in the Technical section of these Frequently Asked Questions for advice on how to download and view them.

Are there other online sources of maps?
Another source on the Web of maps showing constituencies is Ordnance Survey's Election Maps website (www.election-maps.co.uk) which is designed to help the understanding of the electoral geography of the United Kingdom. Users can select from a variety of administrative and electoral boundaries that can be overlaid on a mapping background. The mapping background can be made very detailed, showing individual street names.

Have you got maps of constituencies from the past?
We have maps available of recent past constituencies, but not before the late 1990s. However, the reports and legislation which defined those constituencies are available in the Past Reviews pages of this website.

Can I republish or reuse one of the maps on your website?
The maps on our website are joint copyright between the Boundary Commission for Scotland and Ordnance Survey. The Boundary Commission for Scotland is content for any of the maps to be reproduced without charge, and requires that any reproduced map should contain the acknowledgement "© Crown Copyright. Boundary Commission for Scotland, [[year]]." Before doing so, you will also need to get agreement from Ordnance Survey for the use of its material. Ordnance Survey has a helpline on 08456 05 05 05 and customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk who will be able to advise on how to do this.

Technical

How can I download files and information from the website?
Most of our files and information are available in PDF format. Many computers are set up to handle PDF files automatically. If you need assistance, read the questions below.

How do I use PDF files on my computer?
To read PDF files, your computer needs to have the appropriate software installed. The usual software for handling PDF files is Adobe Reader (sometimes also known as Acrobat Reader) which is distributed free of charge by Adobe. If you do not have Adobe Reader software, click on the logo on the right to download a copy from the Adobe web site.

Why does it take a long time to view a PDF map?
Many of our maps contain a lot of detail, and so are very large files. With large files, there may be a considerable delay while the file is downloaded to your computer before anything appears. Many of the maps are also available as GIF and TIFF images - these are much smaller and quicker to download, but do not give such a sharp image.

Why does a PDF map appear in a new window?
Large PDF files often do not appear successfully within a Web browser. Therefore, we have set up our website so that PDF files are opened in a new window, which is much more reliable. Alternatively, you can download a file and then open it:

right click on the PDF icon for the map you wish to view
select Save Target As ... (Internet Explorer) or Save Link As (Firefox or Netscape) or Download Link to Disk (Macintosh users) from the drop-down menu
choose a convenient location to save the file locally
click save and wait for the file to fully download
navigate to the saved file, and open it.

I am using Adobe Reader version 8. I have tried to download maps using the method above without success. Can you help?
Users of Adobe Reader 8 who are experiencing difficulty in viewing maps may wish to try the following:

Open Adobe Reader
Select the Edit menu
Select Preferences
Under Categories on the left hand side, select Internet
Uncheck the 3 boxes
- "Display PDF in Browser"
- "Allow fast Webview"
- "Allow speculative downloading in the background"
Select the relevant connection speed for your machine
Click OK - you will then be asked to reboot your machine