Constituencies

Mr. Heald
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the timetable is for the new Parliamentary boundaries in England (a) to be fully ratified and (b) to come into operation.

Bridget Prentice
Following approval by both Houses of Parliament, the draft Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order was submitted to Her Majesty in Council for approval and making. The draft Order appears on the agenda for the meeting of the Privy Council of 13 June 2007.

The terms of the draft Order provide that it comes into force on the fourteenth day after it is made. The new constituencies will be used at the next general election on or after the date on which the Order comes into force, in accordance with section 4(6) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986.