Clause 17
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
5:45 pm
Andrew Stunell (Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Communities and Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)
A lot of local government mythology is backed up by some pretty clear-cut anecdotes, if not evidence that could be put before a court, of circumstances in which councils going out of existence have left poisoned pills for their successors in one form or another. A notable case in my constituency goes back to 1973-74, so such cases can be enduring. With all the attention of the Minister and the Government on the performance of local authorities and their regulation, will he say something about how that will be prevented from happening in this round? What role will the residuary bodies play when dealing with it? What will happen to the finances of the new receiving authority if such an event takes place? The financial predictions on which the original decision was made could easily be blown out of the water. I should be interested to hear what the hon. Gentleman hasto say.