Clause 32
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
11:00 am
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.