Clause 25
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
9:30 am
Phil Woolas (Minister of State (Local Government & Community Cohesion), Department for Communities and Local Government; Oldham East and Saddleworth, Labour)
The Secretary of State would haveto take into account the overall situation of local authority reserves, and therefore of borrowing requirements, and the assessment of the individual authority. If, for example, a local authority undertook a one-off public event that required a significant amount of liability to cover it, it could reduce its reserves and liabilities accordingly. There are many other examples in which the level of reserves, or rather the guidance about the level of reserves, would change as a result of councils’ decisions.
The clause provides the Secretary of State with leeway to allow exemptions in some areas, but the general rule as laid out in previous clauses could not change. The clause means that the Secretary of State can provide that authorities do not need to seek consent to apply some particular types of financial reserves or reserves below a certain amount. Therefore, it gives some common-sense room for manoeuvre.