I was grateful for your letter of 12 December about the Review of Public Administration in which you asked why the Government opted for seven rather than 11 councils which you believe would have been acceptable to all the Political Parties except Sinn Fein.

  I understand my officials explained to your Committee that there is a significant body of research which points to the 7-council model as the optimum for service delivery. This is available on the Review website—www.rpani.gov.uk In addition, seven Councils were supported by the majority of those who expressed a view on the number of Councils in their response to the recent consultation on the Review. The responses which favoured 15 Councils came primarily from the Political Parties and Local Government, with the exception of Sinn Fein which supported seven. There was virtually no support for the 11-Council model.

  As part of the review process Jeff Rooker met all the Political Parties and heard their views on a number of key issues including the number of Councils. During these meetings no Party indicated support for 11 Councils. In reaching final decisions I took account of this and the research and consultation findings. This led me to conclude that the 7-Council model was the right answer.

  Since my announcement all the Parties have held to the views expressed in their consultation responses.

Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

12 January 2006