Clause 87
Local Transport Bill [ Lords ]
1:30 pm
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State, Department for Transport; Doncaster Central, Labour)
I know how concerned my hon. Friend is about the issue, as we have had a number of discussions about it. I accept that the Bill provides for some quite significant reforms to be made via secondary legislation, but that is why we have provided for the affirmative procedure to apply in those cases, so that all such orders would need to be approved by both Houses of Parliament. That is completely consistent with the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, which looked carefully at the issue, but it noted the procedures and safeguards that were included in the Bill and concluded that
“we do not consider these delegations inappropriate”.
The powers in the Bill are not unprecedented. To give another example, the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 provides a power to establish unitary authorities in place of existing local authority structures. That power, too, is exercised by secondary legislation subject to affirmative resolution.
I think we have been through the proper procedures in relation to the points made by the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, and we feel that the provisions are appropriate, given the advice we received from the Committee.