To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the issues raised in the recently published review of electoral systems will form a part of the Governance of Britain consultation process. (182617)

The purpose of the review was to consider the experience of new voting systems introduced in the United Kingdom since 1997, to contribute to the existing knowledge of voting systems in the United Kingdom. As set out in the written ministerial statement on 24 January 2008, Official Report, column 61WS, the Government consider that at this point, it would be premature to discuss reforms to the electoral system for the Commons while the voting system for a reformed and substantially or fully elected House of Lords is still to be determined. Good progress is being made on the cross-party talks on Lords reform and the Government intend to publish a White Paper in the first part of 2008 reflecting the outcome of these discussions.