Clause 80
Local Transport Bill [Lords]
10:15 am
Ann Winterton (Congleton, Conservative)
As my hon. Friend says, we have had this discussion before. We hope that when an ITA is established or changed, there will always be the full support of the authorities involved, but, as I have said, in certain situations a small minority of authorities might wish to oppose reforms that are seen to be in the wider interests of the conurbation or the city region as a whole. We are trying to account for the fact that, in such a situation, the Secretary of State could proceed with a governance order, if that was felt to be in the wider interests of the area, without every authority having to agree every aspect of that order. There are requirements to consult each authority and to have regard to the identities and interests of local communities, and a governance order would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny under the affirmative procedure. I hope that that explanation re-emphasises our points about allowing enough flexibility.