Clause 2 - Recommendations by Electoral Commission relating to changes in number ofUnited Kingdom MEPs
European Parliament (Representation) Bill
9:25 am
Mr William Cash (Stone, Conservative)
I am most grateful to you, Mr. Cook. That is most generous.
The position basically is that consultation would be defined in a way that would ensure that we have a proper discussion between the parties. If someone asked why it would be desirable to ensure that the reasons for the decision had to be published, I would simply say that over and again we come to the same problem in administrative law: the outcome of discussions can be challenged as a matter of judicial review. We discussed that on Second Reading when my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) asked whether such matters would be subject to judicial review. It seems to me that that would be more important in some areas of the Bill than others. The Minister was good enough to reply and I believe that she wrote to my hon. Friend, who was going to be a member of the Committee but that did not transpire. My hon. Friend raised an important point about judicial review and the Minister replied in the affirmative and subsequently wrote to him. I have seen the correspondence, because he sent it to me. What I am saying may help to explain the position.
Amendment No. 38 contains the same wording but would apply to paragraph 1(1) of the schedule. I am putting the matter in context because application of the wording, although the same in each case, would
produce slightly different results in relation to the provisions to which it applies. That dovetails with the Electoral Commission, so the points that I have already made would apply.
Finally, amendment No. 34 to paragraph 3(3) of the schedule, which refers to implementation of the Electoral Commission and states:
''The Secretary of State must consult the Commission'',
would add the words
''after consultation with the Boundary Committee''
and so on. That is the proposition.
Can the Minister give me an idea of whether she and her advisers think that that is necessary? They might think that it is not, but I think that there are implications here involving boundaries, which could give rise to the need for such a measure. I shall leave my remarks at that.