Clause 2
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
10:45 am
Phil Woolas (Minister of State (Local Government & Community Cohesion), Department for Communities and Local Government; Oldham East and Saddleworth, Labour)
I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. Our discussions with Derbyshire county council and the districts within Derby show that two-tier working has improved, that services have got better and that the council tax payer is the beneficiary. I should make it clear that when the Government talk about the status quo not being an option for two-tier areas, that does not relate to the structural relationships, but to our wish to see movement towards even better working together. Our pledge is to remove legal and other obstacles to two-tier working where they can be identified. I hope that we will, in a later sitting, get the opportunity to explain the pathfinder projects in more detail.
I do not want to detain the Committee with discussions about the Banham process, but its fundamental problem was that it linked boundary movement with boundary abolition, so the procedure took a long time. As I tried to explain in the evidence session, that is a serious, worrying prospect for local councils, trade unions and the recipients of services.
I hope that I have persuaded the Committee that the limited procedure set out in the clause is required, not as a procedure for restructuring, but as a sensible procedure for boundary changes, which is in current legislation. I ask the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to withdraw his amendment, which is unnecessary.