Clause 13 - Security for money borrowed etc
Local Government Bill
10:30 am
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton, Liberal Democrat)
I have some sympathy with the comments made in the debate. As the Government move towards a prudential capital regime there may well be a corollary in due course, if they allow local authorities greater freedom to decide how they secure their debt. I do not wish to propose that as a policy initiative, but I should like the Minister's assurance
that the Government will follow the logic of their new freedoms on the capital regime, examine that issue and report on it to the House. Will he also assure the Committee that the Government will carry out the studies that the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge suggested should already have been carried out—I doubt that they have been—and report back to the House on the results? Finally, will he assure the Committee, the House and local authorities that the Government will keep the matter under review?