Schedule 1 - Constitution of public benefit corporations
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
3:30 pm
Ms Hazel Blears (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (public health), Department of Health; Salford, Labour)
We are not creating a new set of parliamentary or local government elections. We are trying to set up a series of organisations and institutions throughout the country that will vary quite dramatically in terms of the kind of constituencies and communities that they serve. We are seeking not simply a passive democracy in which somebody simply uses a vote, but a really active democracy in which people want to be part of an organisation. We are trying to create a different kind of organisation. It is not simply a matter of people casting their votes and then going away. We are seeking to retain people's active participation. We have embarked on a different journey. It is not simply a matter of a vote for an organisation of which somebody is then no longer part. The kind of organisation in question is distinct from that.