What next on the redrawing of Parliamentary boundaries?

On 17 July the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee agreed to hold an inquiry looking at how parliamentary constituency boundaries are to be redrawn after the next general election.

The Committee welcomes written evidence on any or all of the following questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of setting constituency boundaries within 5% of the "electoral quota"?
   a) Should a higher or lower tolerance be considered?
2. What are the other considerations the Boundary Commissions should give greatest weight to in drawing constituency boundaries?
3. Should the Boundary Commissions be more open to the possibility of splitting wards when considering boundaries for parliamentary constituencies?
4. Should the recommendations of the Boundary Commission be subject to approval by Parliament, as is the case at present?
5. How accurately does using the registered electorate as the basis for redrawing boundaries reflect the actual population of proposed constituencies?
6. What implications could the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration have for the next—and future—boundary reviews?
7. What are the consequences, including to electoral fairness, of not implementing changes to parliamentary constituency boundaries ahead of the 2015 general election?
8. Is there a case for reconsidering the reduction in the number of MPs from 650 to 600?
   a) Should the Boundary Commissions be asked to draw up proposals for new boundaries based on the current number of MPs?

It is expected the Committee will take oral evidence on this subject in the autumn.

How to respond: The deadline for written submissions is 29 August 2014 and can be completed online here.