Clause 55
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 purpose of the first three amendments, all tabled by me and my hon. Friends, is to get rid of the proposed appointed parish councillors. There are many proposals in the Bill relating to parish councils that we strongly agree with and welcome. Bearing in mind some of the harsher things that I have had to say earlier today, let me say straight away that I believe the Government are approaching the parishes issue appropriately and we shall support them, on the whole. However, we believe that in respect of the provision of appointed councillors they have stepped off the path.
It should be remembered that parish councils already have the capacity to co-opt. They may co-opt to fill vacancies, and they frequently do. Indeed, the people they co-opt to vacancies would, in many cases, conform to the intentions here. However, they are co-opted if there are not enough candidates to contest an election, never mind to have one, and if vacancies remain afterwards. We think that parish councils ought to retain that democratic element and that those who serve on them should do so as a result of an electoral process, and not following an entirely separate appointment. Amendment No. 121 simply reads: “leave out subsection (4)”, which relates to appointed councillors, because we believe that the intention is mistaken. Amendment No. 122 would provide that any such appointed person could not vote on any matter before the council. In other words, they would be non-voting members of the parish council.