Clause 21 - Accounting practices
Local Government Bill
3:30 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State (Local and Regional Government), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
I am happy to assure the hon. Member for Cotswold that the purpose of clause 21 is to carry over into the new system the definition of proper practices for accounting purposes, which is part of the current capital control legislation. The definition has been amended to allow the codes of practice covered by the definition to be clarified in regulations. The present definition leaves the coverage somewhat vague and, given the importance of the definition, that is undesirable. The clause also provides a power to define accounting practices by regulation. That is necessary to allow important aspects of local authority accounting practice to be maintained, such as the treatment of capital receipts, which differs from normal accounting practices adopted in the wider world.
The hon. Gentleman asked why there might be a conflict. If specific provisions applicable to local government are carried forward for a period, general accounting policy and practice may change over time and call into question specific local government practices enshrined in statute. Clearly, if they are enshrined in statute, they should take precedence. I have explained the logic behind the measure; it is a matter not of the Secretary of State making regulations that do not accord with statute, but of accepting the fact that we are bringing together usual accounting processes with specific statutory provision relating to local government.