Clause 66
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]
3:15 pm
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State (Yorkshire and the Humber), Department for Communities and Local Government; Doncaster Central, Labour)
I understand that amendment 63 takes away the requirement for local authorities to have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. Again, the issue here is that on the one hand, the Opposition want us to be more specific about exactly what the economic assessment will need to take into account, but on the other hand, they seem to want local authorities not to take any notice of that. I cannot quite marry those two positions up.
We wish to consult local authority bodies and others about the detail of the economic assessment and provide helpful guidance on how to draw it up. However, it is important that there is a certain level of consistency about that, so we wish to issue guidance and oppose the Opposition amendment.