Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Publication Scheme

Background

The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland is an advisory Non-departmental Public Body sponsored and funded by the Northern Ireland Office. It is an independent, non-political body constituted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992 and the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011.

The role of the Commission is to keep under continuous review the number, names and boundaries of the parliamentary constituencies into which Northern Ireland is divided and to make recommendations about these to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Reviews are carried out every 5 years.

The Commission is currently engaged in the 6th review of Westminster parliamentary constituency boundaries. The legislation provides that the number of constituencies in Northern Ireland is to reduce from 18 to 16 for the purposes of the next general election and the review has to be completed before 1st October 2013.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is the Chairman of the Commission. There are three other members of the Commission. The Deputy Chairman who presides over the Commission's meetings is a judge of the High Court appointed by the Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland. The two other members of the Commission are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In addition, the Commission has as Assessors the Registrar General in Northern Ireland, the Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland and the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland. The Commission currently comprises:

Chairman:The Rt Hon John Bercow, MP
The Speaker of the House of Commons
Deputy Chairman:   The Hon Mr Justice McLaughlin
Members:Mr Richard Mackenzie, CB
Dr. William Smith
Assessors:Dr Norman Caven, Registrar General in Northern Ireland                                                            
Mr Graham Shields, Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland
Mr Alan Brontë, Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland
Mr Trevor Steenson, Chief Survey Officer of Land &Property Services
Secretary:Ms Liz Benson

Data and information

(1) Periodical and interim review reports made to the Secretary of State are subject to Crown copyright.

Periodical and interim review reports made to the Secretary of State are subject to Crown copyright.

The last such Report Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Fifth Periodical Report on Parliamentary Constituencies (Cm 7321, March 2008) may be reproduced for personal or in-house use without formal permission.

Reproduction for sale or other commercial purposes is not permitted but for other use or if in doubt consult:

The Information Policy Team
Office of Public Sector Information
St Clement's House
2-16 Colegate
Norwich NR3 1BQ

Fax: 01603 723000

Email: licensing@opsi.x.gsi.gov.uk

(2) Maps

Maps used in Commission documents are reproduced from a digital database. Their reproduction in whole or in part requires the prior permission of Land & Property Services. Unauthorised reproduction will also infringe Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Any person wishing to reproduce maps should contact Land & Property Services.

Land & Property Services
Colby House
Colby Court
Stranmillis Road
Belfast
BT9 5BJ.

Tel: 028 9025 5755

Fax: 028 9025 5700

Website: www.lpsni.gov.uk

Email: customerservices@lpsni.gov.uk

(3) Introductory material

Introductory material explaining the role, purpose, practice and procedures of the Commission is published at the outset of reviews.

(4) Other material

Other material is prepared and made available as soon as practicable and includes:

  • A guide to the Review containing information on the role, policy, practice and procedures of the Commission;
  • Provisional, and where appropriate, Revised Proposals;
  • Press Releases affecting the progress of the review;
  • Public Notices published at key stages during the review.

(5) Minutes of Commission meetings

Minutes of Commission meetings are published along with the reports to which they relate i.e. on publication of Provisional and Revised Proposals Reports.

(6) Representations

Representations received by the Commission in the course of boundary reviews will be made available, including the name of the person or organisation making the representation. Representations are made available for inspection at the Commission's offices and may be published on the Commission's website. The Commission will only refuse to disclose representations in exceptional circumstances.

As a result, if any person or organisation making a representation does not wish their representation to be published, they should provide an explanation for this request in writing along with the representation. The Commission will carefully consider any such request.

In the absence of a request to the contrary, representations from individuals will be edited before publication to remove signatures and personal contact details such as email addresses or street addresses. Contact details of organisations and holders of elected office will not normally be removed.

(7) Annual Reports:

The Commission submits to the Secretary of State, and publishes, annual reports of its activities.

(8) Progress Reports:

During the course of a parliamentary constituency review, the Commission is required to submit a progress report to the Speaker of the House of Commons each January. These will be published on the Commission’s website.

Documents may be obtained from the Commission Secretariat or on its website. Contact details for the Commission are:

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
Belfast
BT8 7AR

Tel: 028 9069 4800

Fax: 028 9069 4801

Website: www.boundarycommission.org.uk

Email: bcni@belfast.org.uk

Single copies of Commission publications are normally available free of charge. The Commission may, however, wish to recover administrative and postage costs where the document is heavy or where requests are made for multiple copies or for a number of publications.

The Commission may decide to prepare and publish other material during the conduct of their Review wherever this is felt appropriate and conducive to it. Information not disclosed by the Commission and exempted by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 includes matters affecting national security, confidentiality, unwarranted invasion of privacy and commercial sensitivity.

Inquiries or complaints about the availability or access to information should be addressed to the Secretary to the Commission.

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
September 2011