Clause 9 - Capital Receipts
Local Government Bill
3:00 pm
Mrs Valerie Davey (Bristol West, Labour)
I rise very briefly because I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty) wants to say a little more about the amendments.
The Liberal Democrats support the two amendments, although it was remiss of me to forget to sign up to them. What the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge has said is exactly right. Subsection (3) seeks to do something rather odd and is one more example of the Government's taking unnecessary regulatory powers to themselves, and amendment No. 37 would free debt-free authorities from some of the controls and powers that the Government seek. I shall not speak at length on amendment No. 37 because in many ways it looks forward to the debates that we shall have on clause 11.