Clause 23 - Funding for regional chambers
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill
6:15 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
The amendments are intended to constrain the funding for regional chambers in a way that I shall now outline. The Bill gives the Secretary of State the power to
''make a grant to any person in respect of expenditure incurred in connection with the activities of a regional chamber.''
The language is slightly curious. Perhaps the Minister will explain who the lucky ''any person'' might be. The Government seem to be contemplating making payments to persons, as distinct from the chamber itself. Perhaps they envisage the Secretary of State paying the milkman direct, rather than a regional chamber paying its own milk bill. No doubt he will be able to clarify that.
Amendment No. 85 deals with the making of such grants in connection with the discharge of functions relating to spatial planning. The Minister will correct me if I am wrong, but I take it that that is the principle area that is envisaged. The White Paper from which he has been liberally quoting is entitled ''Your Region, Your Choice'', but there is no choice for regions in relation to the transfer of administrative functions from county councils to the currently unelected regional authorities, as designated by the Government.
It is probably appropriate that the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill is making progress on the Floor of the House even as we speak. That Bill will transfer powers from existing county councils and other authorities to regional chambers. I assume that the Minister will confirm that the grant-making power has been primarily designed with that purpose in mind. If the Government get their way in relation to the that Bill, it will be necessary to fund the activity that it covers. The amendment is intended to ensure that any such grants are made by order, so that there will be an opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny. They should not be made in any manner that means that they cannot be considered by Parliament in the proper way.
Amendment No. 86 addresses a separate point. It deals with the possibility—the Minister will doubtless describe this as paranoia—of grants being made to regional chambers for the purpose of, or in connection with, campaigning in a referendum campaign, a pre-campaign, or a campaign to persuade the Government to conduct a referendum campaign. We can assume that, by and large, regional chambers will be advocates of progress along the Government's chosen regional
route. It would be entirely wrong for public money given to the chambers to be used for campaigning. If there is to be a campaign, it must be conducted by private protagonists using their own funding. It is bad enough that central Government will clearly use our money to mount a partisan campaign in the run-up to a referendum; we must ensure that the regional chamber does not have a similar opportunity to use public funds.
In relation to amendment No. 86, I hope that the Minister can confirm that it is not the intention that the clause will grant public funds for campaigning purposes, and if so, I hope that he will let the Committee know what safeguards he intends to put in place to ensure that funds are not used to liberate other funds that could be diverted to mount such campaigns.