Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission of (a) district council and (b) county council boundaries in two tier areas since 4 July 2024.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England typically starts 25 reviews a year. With each review taking approximately 15 months to complete, around 50 can be in progress at any time.

In February 2025, following the issuing of a statutory invitation to submit unitary proposals to all two-tier authorities, the Commission took the decision to pause all live reviews in those areas.

In the period between July 2024 and February 2025, 23 reviews of district councils were in progress. Based on the average cost per stage of a review of a district council, the Commission estimates that it spent up to £368,000 on these reviews during this period.

Additionally, six county council reviews were completed as planned within this timeframe. Based on the average cost per stage of a review of a county council, the Commission estimates that it spent up to £137,000 on these reviews during this period.