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 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 set out the rules for future boundary reviews of parliamentary constituencies, and also provided for the number of parliamentary constituencies in the UK to be reduced from 650 to 600.
These changes were originally due to be implemented ahead of the 2015 general election, but the legislation was subsequently amended so that changes will not now be implemented until after the 2015 general election.
The Boundary Commissions of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are required to recommend by October 2018 boundaries for 600 parliamentary constituencies, and Parliament will then consider whether to approve these changes ahead of the 2020 general election.