BCS Paper 2016/13

Boundary Com m ission for Scotland BCS Pap er 2 0 1 6 / 1 3 2 0 1 8 Review of Wes tm in s ter Con s titu en cies Con s id eration s for con s titu en cy d es ig n in Hig h lan d an d n orth of Scotlan d Action req u ired 1. The Com m ission is invited to consider the issue of constituency size when designing constituencies for Highland and the north of Scotland and whether it wishes to propose a constituency for its public consultation outwith the electorate quota. Backg rou n d 2. The legislation governing the review states that no constituency is perm itted to be larger than 13,000 square kilom etres. 3. The legislation also states that any constituency larger than 12,000 square kilom etres m ay have an electorate lower than 95% of the electoral quota (ie less than 71,031), if it is not reasonably possible for it to com ply with that requirem ent. 4. The constituency size rule is probably only relevant in Highland. 5. The Secretariat has considered som e alternative constituency designs for <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Highland </li><li style="flex:1">and </li><li style="flex:1">the </li><li style="flex:1">north </li><li style="flex:1">of </li><li style="flex:1">Scotland </li><li style="flex:1">for </li><li style="flex:1">discussion. </li></ul>6. There are currently 3 UK Parliam ent constituencies wholly with Highland Council area: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross – 45,898 electors Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey – 74,354 electors Ross, Skye and Lochaber – 51,817 electors 7. During the 6th Review of UK Parliam ent constituencies the Com m ission developed proposals based on constituencies within the electoral quota and area lim it. Op tion 1 – con s id ers electorate lower th an 9 5 % of th e electoral q u ota in Hig h lan d 8. Op tion 1 : follows the Scottish Parliam ent constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, that includes Highland wards 1 – 5, 7, 8 and part of ward 6. The electorate and area for the proposed Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency is 53,264 electors and 12,792 sq km ; creates an Inverness constituency that includes Highland wards 9 - 11, 13- 18, 20 and ward 6 (part) with an electorate of 85,276. adds Highland wards 12 (Caol & Mallaig) and 22 (Fort William & Ardnam urchan) to Argyll & Bute Council area to create an Argyll & Bute and Lochaber constituency, with 80,549 electors. adds Highland ward 19 (Nairn) to Moray Council area to create a Moray and Nairn constituency with 78,477 electors. adds Highland ward 21 (Badenoch & Strathspey) to a constituency grouping with Aberdeenshire Council area and or other council areas. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Docum ent nam e </li><li style="flex:1">1</li></ul>BCS2016_13_(Constituency_design_Highland) Boundary Com m ission for Scotland BCS Pap er 2 0 1 6 / 1 3 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Con s titu en cy </li><li style="flex:1">Electors </li><li style="flex:1">Area (km 2 ) </li></ul>12,792 6,339 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Highland </li><li style="flex:1">53,264 </li></ul>85,276 80,549 78,477 203,487 Inverness Argyll & Bute and Lochaber Moray and Nairn 11,809 2,612 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Aberdeenshire and Badenoch and Strathspey </li><li style="flex:1">8,668 </li></ul>9. Option 1 creates a constituency coterm inous for both the UK and Scottish Parliam ents, m aking it sim pler for the electorate to recognise their constituency boundary and all constituencies are within the 13,000 sq km lim it. 10.However the electorate of the proposed Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency is significantly below the electorate quota and as a consequence neighbouring constituencies are above the electoral quota within this grouping. Op tion 2 – con s id ers electorate with in electorate q u ota in Hig h lan d 11.Op tion 2 : creates a Highland constituency that includes Highland wards 1 – 5, 6 (part), 7 - 10, 13 (part). Ward 6 is divided by following Strath Carron, Strath Bran and a woodland boundary in Strathconon. Ward 13 is split <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">by following the river Beauly and </li><li style="flex:1">a</li><li style="flex:1">railway line. The Highland </li></ul>constituency has an electorate of 71,302 and covers an area of 12,565 sq km ; creates an Inverness constituency that includes Highland wards 11, 13 – 18, 20 - 21and ward 6 (part) with 77,090 electors and area of 8,985 sq km ; Highland wards 12 and 22 are added to Argyll and Bute to create an Argyll & Bute and Lochaber constituency with 80,549 electors, the sam e as in Option 1; and Highland ward 19 (Nairn) is added to Moray Council area to create a Moray and Nairn constituency with 78,477 electors, as in Option 1. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Cons titu en cy </li><li style="flex:1">Electors </li></ul>71,302 77,090 80,549 78,477 Area (km 2 ) 12,565 8,895 Highland Inverness Argyll & Bute and Lochaber Moray and Nairn 11,809 2,612 12.Option 2 creates a Highland constituency within both the electoral quota and area lim it. 13.However, the electorate of the proposed Argyll & Bute and Lochaber constituency is just above the electorate quota and m ay have an im pact on neighbouring constituency groupings. In addition, Beauly is separated from <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Docum ent nam e </li><li style="flex:1">2</li></ul>BCS2016_13_(Constituency_design_Highland) Boundary Com m ission for Scotland BCS Pap er 2 0 1 6 / 1 3 other com m unities in Highland ward 13, although com m unities in ward 13 m ay look towards Inverness for local am enities and services, rather than local towns. Con clu s ion 14.Although neither option offers a workable set of constituencies, Option 2 highlights that it is possible to create a constituency in the north of Scotland both within the area lim it and electoral quota. 15.The Com m ission is invited to consider whether it wishes the Secretariat to consider further the developm ent of constituencies for Highland and the north of Scotland using the legislative exem ption from the electoral quota range set out in paragraph 3. Secretariat May 2 0 1 6 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Docum ent nam e </li><li style="flex:1">3</li></ul>BCS2016_13_(Constituency_design_Highland) Boun d ary Com m is s ion for Scotlan d 2018 Review of UK Parliament Constituencies Constituency Design - Option 1 Suggested Grouping of Highland, Moray, Argyll and Bute and Aberdeenshire BCS 2016/13 Appendix B 2 3 4153,26 4 58 73 5 6<ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">7</li><li style="flex:1">4</li></ul>2 10 9878,47 7 18 17 19 14 16 13 11 6185,27 6 20 21 12 12 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">80,541 </li><li style="flex:1">9</li></ul>2Bad en och an d Strath s p ey 9,85 2 + Ab erd een s h ire 1 93 ,6 35= 2 03 ,48 7 22 Area (km2) 12,792 6,339 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Constituency </li><li style="flex:1">Electors </li></ul>53,264 85,276 80,549 78,477 Highland Inverness 4 5Argyll & Bute and Lochaber Moray and Nairn 11,809 2,612 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Aberdeenshire and Badenoch and Strathspey 203,487 </li><li style="flex:1">8,668 </li></ul>3 9 610 11 78 21 22 existing ward number suggested constituency Council Area Boundary existing ward boundary <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">25 miles </li></ul>Crown Copyright and database right 2016. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey licence no. 100022179 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">25 km </li></ul>±Boun d ary Com m is s ion for Scotlan d 2018 Review of UK Parliament Constituencies Constituency Design - Option 2 2Suggested Grouping of Highland,Moray and Argyll and Bute Council Areas BCS 2016/13 Appendix C 3 4171,30 2 5See In s et 8 76 3 5 7 4 2 10 15 9 8 18 17 19 14 78,47 7 16 11 120 77,09 0 21 12 12 80,54 9 22 Constituency Highland Inverness Electors Area (km2) 71,302 77,090 12,565 8,895 Argyll & Bute and Lochaber 80,549 Moray and Nairn 78,477 11,809 2,612 4 5In s et 10 3 9 6910 11 78 2Crown Copyright and database right 2016. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey licence no. 100022179 13 existing ward number suggested constituency Council Area Boundary existing ward boundary 3 1<ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">1 miles </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">20 miles </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">1 km </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">0</li><li style="flex:1">20 km </li></ul>± ±

BCS Paper 2016/13

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