Robert Syms (Shadow Minister (Local Government), Communities and Local Government; Poole, Conservative)

Having debated the issue generally, I would like to consider the specifics of the mechanism under clause 32. Many local authorities do not have a political majority: sometimes there are coalitions; sometimes there are ad hoc arrangements; and sometimes there are formal arrangements for running the authority. Decision making can change quite quickly, particularly if people fall out, as has been known in local government.

Secondly, in local government, at any one time, there are vacancies. If one looks at the list of pending vacancies for local government, sometimes there are 30 to 50 seats across the country that are not filled at any one time. Even occasionally, when there are all-up elections, there are one or two vacancies per council.

Thirdly, there are changes of representation in wards as a result of by-elections and vacancies, and there are also defections. The clause says:

“No resolution of the council may reverse the effect of this section”,

but my point is that there may be a situation in which, having passed a resolution in the permitted period, the political control of the council changes within a matter of weeks, and the council’s opinion may change. A coalition, perhaps involving independents, may change, and the view of those who are responsible for running the council may change after by-elections and defections. Many votes go through in local authorities on casting votes of chairmen or mayors. Are we saying that when a vote to change the electoral arrangements goes through on the casting vote of the mayor and when two vacancies then return two members from a different political party and that changes the view of the council, the council cannot change a resolution once it has been passed? Essentially, a decision could be taken without the express wish of every member of the council because there may be one or two vacancies, or filling those vacancies may lead to a change in the political complexion.

I do not want to labour the point, but things change in local government. I have been on hung authorities when one committee has voted in the opposite way to another and it is total chaos. I therefore seek the Under-Secretary’s reassurance. Will guidance be given? Will there be any rules or will it be purely a matter for the council and the chairman’s casting vote? If the leadership of the council changes in the period concerned, will the new leader have any means of changing the resolution? At what point does the decision become irreversible? Is it on the council’s vote, or after the Electoral Commission has nodded to it? I appreciate that if political parties have different views about the electoral benefits of a change, which I suspect they may do in different circumstances, it may be a matter of political discussion and disagreement.

Some councils have run successfully for years with a majority of one and a casting vote. On such a finely balanced council I am worried that an irreversible decision could be taken, but a few weeks later there  may be a very different majority able to take a completely different decision on this very important issue. I should be interested to hear the Under-Secretary’s views on the subject.

Angela Smith (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Basildon, Labour)

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the clarity with which he expressed his views while seeking enlightenment. I will say something about the clause and then respond to his comments.

The clause enables an eligible council—that is, a district that currently holds elections by halves or thirds—to move to whole-council elections. As I said, we will reflect on the amendment proposed by the hon. Member for Hazel Grove. If a council wishes to make such a change, it must do so in a specified period, because the date of whole-council elections, as set out in clause 33, is different for metropolitan authorities and shire districts. It is 2008 for metropolitan districts and 2011 for shire districts. The specified period will run from 1 October to 31 December in the year before the elections are due and will ensure that, to stabilise existing arrangements, members of the public know about the change in good time but not too long before the first whole-council election.

The clause also enables the Secretary of State to extend the periods during which a resolution can be made, but we envisage doing so only in very limited circumstances, perhaps to give a council a bit of extra time and the flexibility to consider the proposals properly. The clause allows councils to hold council elections if they wish to do so.

On the point made by the hon. Member for Poole, there is a difficulty in hung, or finely balanced councils, but they still have to make decisions on their budget, which stands for a year. They have to stand by their decisions in the same way as other councils. We have to accept the decision of the electorate in choosing the council, and the decisions that that council produces. When a council has taken a vote and made a resolution, it will inform the Electoral Commission, but the commission has no role in ratifying the decision, which is taken by the local council. The council may want to consult and to have wide-ranging discussions on the best way forward, but the council’s decision, as in many other issues, is binding.