Clause 16 - Capital expenditure
Local Government Bill
11:00 am
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold, Conservative)
Amendment No. 43 seeks to probe what the Minister means by ''proper practices''. ''Generally Accepted Accounting Practices'' is a well-known term, and I would like to know why the phrase ''proper practices'' has been included in the provision.
I do not intend to address amendment No. 78, as that was tabled by the Liberal Democrats.
Amendment No. 44 would remove the power of the Secretary of State to, by direction, treat the expenditure of a particular authority as being capital expenditure or not. If that power is retained, black could be white, and there would be no scrutiny or direction. That contrasts with the provision for all local authorities in subsection (2)(a), which operates by regulation and is subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Will the Minister explain the reasons for that difference, because that would help us to decide whether to push amendment No. 44 to a vote?