I am pleased to announce to the House that I have appointed Richard Mackenzie CB as District Electoral Areas Commissioner for Northern Ireland. His appointment will take effect from 1 July 2009 following the completion of his work as Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland. As District Electoral Areas Commissioner, Mr Mackenzie’s role will be to make recommendations on the grouping of local government wards in Northern Ireland into multi-member constituencies for the purposes of elections to local councils.