Clause 66
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Paul Goodman (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Wycombe, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment 60, in clause 66, page 49, line 13, leave out ‘must’ and insert ‘may’.
To address amendment 60 I must say a word or two in introduction to part 4 of the Bill, since neither Minister has risen to her feet to do so. We are now approaching the heart of the Bill. The clause on local authority economic assessment will provide space for many of the arguments that you have already heard, Mr. Illsley, I am afraid, in relation to other parts of the Bill, in particular about the first three sets of duties.
What members of the Committee see before them is a proposal that a
“principal local authority in England must”—
note, “must”—
“prepare an assessment of the economic conditions of its area.”
In subsection (2) it may revise the assessment
“or any part of it...at any time”.
That provision was introduced presumably in case subsection (1) proves in practice to be even more inflexible than the clause looks as a whole.
Let us pause for a moment and look at the whole business of economic assessment. Obviously, any reasonably sized local authority worth its salt will have an eye to the economic conditions of its area. In our area, Wycombe district council, which is one of the larger district councils in England, has all sorts of data available to it about the economic conditions in the area as a whole and in the Thames valley—the information is easily accessible—and it makes assessments of the information that is in front of it. However, the first question that the clause and its first two subsections give rise to is, as ever, why that has to be on the statute book. We have asked the question so many times that I shall not repeat it at length. However, I will ask a variant of it. Why is it that Ministers believe that it is important to put an economic assessment—only—on the statute book?
Any local council worth its salt, such as Wycombe district council, does not only prepare economic statistics; it also prepares social, housing and education statistics and assessments. If one burrows through my local council’s website, one can find child poverty statistics. As it is a feature of this clause, I am curious to know why so much stress is placed on economic assessments of the workings of the economy and the issue of prosperity only. Far be it from any member of the Conservative party to take a view that seems sceptical of business—we are not doing that at all—but it is curious that the Government have not thought fit to put a social, environmental or sustainability assessment in the Bill, given that they have thought fit to include an economic assessment.
There are always questions about the balance between growth and the environment, between standard of living and quality of life and how the two interact. The Minister will be aware that Opposition parties have received representations arguing that in this Bill the Government have become over-focused on growth. When the Bill was drawn up, I do not know whether anyone anticipated the promotion of Lord Mandelson to First Secretary of State and his Department’s subsequent swallowing-up of whole other areas of Government, but there seems to be a case for arguing that the Government have put their eggs very strongly in the basket of economic, rather than other forms of assessment. That is a curiosity.
That is the background. If hon. Members cast their eye down the clause, they will see multiple instances of the word “must”—I have highlighted the word five times in my copy, and the clause even starts with a “must”—hence amendment 60. It is an amendment, Mr. Illsley, of a type with which you will be familiar. A moment ago I said that we have no objection to a local authority carrying out economic assessments—how could we? If this clause must be on the statute book, we would prefer to take “must” out and insert the word “may”.
I obviously cannot speak to the amendment that was tabled by a Member who was going to be on the Committee, but no longer is; perhaps the Whips got him and bound him in a dark cupboard.