European Assembly Elections Act 1978 (Repealed)

Schedule 2 Electoral Regions in England

Part I Reports of Boundary Commission and Orders in Council 4A (1) Where the Boundary Commission for any part of Great Britain intend to consider making a supplementary report under this Schedule, they shall, by notice in writing, inform the Secretary of State accordingly, and a copy of the notice shall be published— (a) in a case where it was given by the Boundary Commission for England or the Boundary Commission for Wales, in the London Gazette, and (b) in a case where it was given by the Boundary Commission for Scotland, in the Edinburgh Gazette. (2) As soon as may be after a Boundary Commission have submitted a supplementary report to the Secretary of State under this Schedule, he shall lay the report before Parliament together, except in a case where the report states that no alteration is required to be made in respect of the part of Great Britain with which the Commission are concerned, with the draft of an Order in Council for giving effect, whether with or without modifications, to the recommendations contained in the report. 4B (1) The draft of any Order in Council laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State under this Schedule for giving effect, whether with or without modifications, to the recommendations contained in a supplementary report of a Boundary Commission may make provision for any matters which appear to him to be incidental to, or consequential on, the recommendations. (2) Where any such draft gives effect to any such recommendations with modifications, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament together with the draft a statement of the reasons for the modifications. (3) If any such draft is approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, the Secretary of State shall submit it to Her Majesty in Council. (4) If a motion for the approval of any such draft is rejected by either House of Parliament or withdrawn by leave of the House, the Secretary of State may amend the draft and lay the amended draft before Parliament, and if the draft as so amended is approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, the Secretary of State shall submit it to Her Majesty in Council. (5) Where the draft of an Order in Council is submitted to Her Majesty in Council under this Schedule, Her Majesty in Council may make an Order in terms of the draft which (subject to paragraph 8 below) shall come into force on such date as may be specified in the Order and shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any enactment. (6) The validity of any Order in Council purporting to be made under this Schedule and reciting that a draft of the Order has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament shall not be called in question in any legal proceedings whatsoever. 5 (1) Where a Boundary Commission have provisionally determined to make recommendations with respect to any European Parliamentary constituency, they shall publish a notice under this paragraph in such manner as they think best calculated to bring it to the attention of those concerned. (2) A notice under this paragraph relating to an European Parliamentary constituency shall state— (a) the effect of the proposed recommendations with respect to that constituency and (except where the proposed recommendations do not involve any alteration in that European Parliamentary constituency) that copies of the recommendations are open to inspection at one or more specified places within each parliamentary constituency included in that European Parliamentary constituency; and (b) that representations with respect to the proposed recommendations may be made to the Commission within one month after the first publication of the notice, and the Commission shall take into consideration any representations duly made in accordance with any such notice. (3) Where a Boundary Commission revise any proposed recommendations after publishing a notice of them under this paragraph the Commission shall publish a further notice under this paragraph in relation to the revised recommendations, as if no earlier notice had been published. 5A (1) A Boundary Commission may, if they think fit, cause a local inquiry to be held in respect of any European Parliamentary constituency or constituencies. (2) Where, on the publication of the notice under paragraph 5 above of a recommendation of a Boundary Commission for the alteration of any European Parliamentary constituencies, the Commission receive any representation objecting to the proposed recommendation from an interested authority or from a body of electors numbering five hundred or more, the Commission shall not make the recommendation unless, since the publication of the notice, a local inquiry has been held in respect of the European Parliamentary constituencies. (3) Where a local inquiry was held in respect of the European Parliamentary constituencies before the publication of the notice mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) above, that sub-paragraph shall not apply if the Commission, after considering the matters discussed at the local inquiry, the nature of the representations received on the publication of the notice and any other relevant circumstances, are of opinion that a further local inquiry would not be justified. (4) In sub-paragraph (2) above, “interested authority” and “elector” respectively means, in relation to any recommendation, a local authority whose area is wholly or partly comprised in the European Parliamentary constituencies affected by the recommendation, and an elector for any of those European Parliamentary constituencies; and for this purpose “local authority” means— (a) in England . . ., the council of a county, London borough or district (aa) in Wales, the council of a county or county borough;and (b) in Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. 6 Section 250(2) and (3) of the Local Government Act 1972 or, as the case may be, section 210(4) and (5) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (attendance of witnesses at inquiries) shall apply in relation to an inquiry held in pursuance of paragraph 5A above. 7 Nothing in paragraphs 4A and 4B above shall be taken as enabling the Secretary of State to modify any recommendation or draft Order in Council in a manner conflicting with the provisions of Part II of this Schedule. 8 (1) An Order in Council under this Schedule shall apply to the first general election of representatives to the Assembly held after the Order comes into force and (subject to any further Order in Council) to any subsequent European Parliamentary election, but shall not affect any earlier election. (2) The validity of an European Parliamentary election held in an European Parliamentary constituency consisting of an area determined by an Order in Council made under this Schedule, being an Order which applies to that election, shall not be affected by any alteration made in any parliamentary constituency since the making of that Order. Part II Division of Great Britain into European Parliamentary Constituencies 9 In Great Britain— (a) each European Parliamentary constituency shall consist of an area that includes two or more parliamentary constituencies; and (b) no parliamentary constituency shall be included partly in one European Parliamentary constituency and partly in another. 10 The electorate of any European Parliamentary constituency in Great Britain shall be as near the electoral quota as is reasonably practicable having regard, where appropriate, to special geographical considerations. Part III Interpretation 11 In this Schedule— “the 1986 Act” means the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986; “Boundary Commission” means a Boundary Commission provided for by the 1986 Act other than the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. 12 In Part II of this Schedule and this paragraph in their application to a part of Great Britain for which there is a Boundary Commission— “electoral quota” means the number obtained by dividing the electorate of that part of Great Britain by the number of European Parliamentary constituencies specified for that part in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to this Act; “electorate” means— in relation to an European Parliamentary constituency, the number of persons whose names appear on the relevant registers for that European Parliamentary constituency in force on the enumeration date; in relation to that part of Great Britain, the number of persons whose names appear on the relevant registers for that part of Great Britain in force on the enumeration date; “enumeration date” means, in relation to any supplementary report of a Boundary Commission under this Schedule, the date on which the notice with respect to that report is published in accordance with paragraph 4A above; “the relevant registers” means the following registers under the Representation of the People Acts, namely— in relation to an European Parliamentary constituency, the registers of parliamentary electors to be used at an European Parliamentary election in that European Parliamentary constituency; in relation to that part of Great Britain, the registers of parliamentary electors for the parliamentary constituencies in that part.