To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance will be available to the Local Government Commission in assessing the identities and interests of local communities.

We commissioned two research projects as a contribution to thinking on how to assess community identity in the restructuring of local government. The research is intended as a starting point for the Local Government Commission in its work in recommending changes to local government structure and boundaries. I have placed in the Library copies of the reports "Identification with local areas" by Alan Hedges and "Application of Geographic Information Systems to community boundary definition" by the centre for urban and regional development studies at Newcastle university. Copies have also been sent to the local authority associations and the Audit Commission.