Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 17 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 May 2006. It was answered by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Monday, 5 June 2006 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Assembly Elections

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Northern Ireland Assembly elections scheduled to be held in May 2008 will be based on constituencies as defined in the forthcoming Boundary Commission report.

Answer: The Northern Ireland Act 2006 provides for the postponement of the May 2007 elections to May 2008 if an Executive is formed before 25 November 2006.The Boundary Commission announced their Revised Recommendations on 18 May 2006. They must consider all representations on the Revised Recommendations received within one month of their publication. Further to this, they will submit their Final Recommendations to the Secretary of State who must then lay these (with or without modifications) before Parliament for approval.The Commission must submit their Final Report to the Secretary of State by June 2007.I await the final report.

Secondary information