Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

I beg to move amendment No. 38, in page 32, line 5, at end insert—

'(2A) The relevant body may publish the information electronically in any way which is accessible by local government electors of the body.'.

Clause 48 is concerned with the methods of publishing information about standards and performance under clause 47. The amendment would insert a new subsection to allow local authorities to publish information electronically. I am aware that the drafting of the clause is based on the Audit Commission Act 1998, and it is surprising that although that Act is hardly more than five years old, it does not refer to electronic publishing. I do not see any danger in allowing electronic publishing, so I wait with excitement to see what the Minister will have against this constructive amendment.

Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)

Shall I e-mail the hon. Gentleman?

Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

E-mail the whole Committee.

Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)

Clause 48 sets out the way in which a relevant body is permitted to publish information required by a direction made under clause 47—by publication

''in a newspaper which is—

(a) printed for sale, and

(b) circulating in its area.''

Amendment No. 42 would enable a body to publish information on standards of performance electronically in a way that is accessible to its electors. It would also, however, give the body the option of using the electronic medium instead of a local newspaper, not simply as an additional means of communication.

Electronic communication through e-mail and the internet has made huge advances in recent years. However, there is still not universal access to the internet, and publication in a newspaper is still the most reliable way of making information available to electors. There is nothing in the Bill to prevent local government bodies from using electronic methods of publication in addition to the method of publication already permitted by the clause. That would not

require an amendment to the Bill.I am sympathetic to the aim of disseminating information as effectively as possible through the use of information technology, but at this stage, its use as the sole means of communication is premature.

Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

I am sorry to hear that the Minister has such a downer on electronic communication. One of the Achilles heels in this debate is the ''printed for sale'' element. If we are talking about releasing information, we must keep our eye firmly on the ball: not everybody will want to pay for that information. The amendment was a constructive way of allowing it to be accessible without charge. The point that the Minister made about not everybody having access to the internet is fair, and I suspect that probably the best thing to do now is to leave the matter with the Government and hope that they will amend the Bill in their own time.

Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)

May I help by clarifying things a little further? By ''permitted methods of publication'', clause 48 does not mean that no additional means are permitted; it simply means that publication by the permitted method is a mandatory minimum. I hope that that helps the hon. Gentleman. He will recognise that, as the e-Minister, I would not want to close the door on new technology, but we must recognise that such technology is not universally available. Local authorities publish many things in local newspapers, and that is often the most effective way of getting information out to their electorate.

Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

That is helpful. I know that the Minister surfs my website regularly, and has made many comments about it. He will recall that he teased me mercilessly for not having a picture of my leader on it.

Mr Chris Ruane (PPS (Rt Hon Peter Hain, Lord Privy Seal), House of Commons; Vale of Clwyd, Labour)

Which one? There are so many.

Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

I now have a picture of my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on it. When I had the photograph taken, I mentioned it to him, to which he replied that the Minister was welcome to have his photograph taken with the Leader of the Opposition and put it on his website, for all the good it would do him. That was a generous offer.

Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)

We welcome Leaders of Opposition parties to my parliamentary constituency. When the leader of Plaid Cymru came to my constituency there was a 37 per cent. swing to Labour in a council by-election. Please come.

Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)

That is a dangerous but generous offer from the Minister. As the Leader of the Opposition is Welsh, he may well have visited, and will visit again. I am sure that the local people will look forward to that with great excitement, as perhaps they did not when previous leaders of other parties have visited.

Returning to the amendment, I take the Minister's point and I hope that the information will be published electronically as well, because that will give greater transparency and will allow those who have access to

the internet to find the information that they need more easily. We have now exhausted the issue, so I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 48 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 49 and 50 ordered to stand part of the Bill.