Clause 50
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
7:15 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)
The clause deals with the time limit within which a further referendum can be held to change governance arrangements. The Bill specifies a period of 10 years in England and five in Wales. Why there is a difference is an interesting question, and I am sure that the Minister has a suitable explanation. The period seems to us to restrict the choices open to a community for changing its governance arrangements if it discovers that it has made a mistake.
The amendments propose that no referendum could be held within four years, rather than the 10 or five specified. I am interested to hear the Minister’s reasoning because, given all the emphasis he has placed on getting the model right and providing local choice and diversity, I would have thought that he would want to facilitate rather than obstruct an opportunity to correct an error—learning from the Stoke-on-Trent example, let us say.