None - Clause 72
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
Dan Rogerson (North Cornwall, Liberal Democrat)
Welcome back to the Chair, Mr. Illsley, as we continue to make our way through the Bill with cross-party consensus. [Interruption.] Well, a two-party consensus, at least.
We move on to the issue of community involvement, which relates to how responsible regional authorities will involve people in the exercise of their functions. That is a crucial matter for whatever those new bodies will be. It has struck me and my hon. Friend the Member for Falmouth and Camborne that the clause allows responsible regional authorities to define for themselves who should be involved. That definition will then be referred to the Secretary of State, but it is really left to those who will carry out the function to determine who they will consult about how well they are doing. That does not seem robust enough in terms of allowing people in the relevant regions to scrutinise what their regional authorities are doing on their behalf. The amendments seek to address the issue.
Amendment 112 states that those who pay tax to local authorities and their elected representatives at all levels, which include, for example, parish councils, would have to be consulted on a regional authority’s proposals for its region. Amendment 115, which was tabled after consulting the county councils network, is an alternative way of addressing the issue, and was tabled for the purposes of debate. It sets out in a more detailed way the sorts of authorities that might be included. The amendments are not necessarily prescriptive, but they are intended to prompt debate. We feel that there should be a little more prescription that clearly sets out that all the people in a region and their democratically elected representatives ought to be consulted about what is being proposed for their region, as opposed to allowing the regional bodies to determine who they will ask about whether they are doing a good job. Amendments 113 and 114 are consequential amendments.
On amendment 112, I would like to hear more from the Government about who they feel should be consulted and why, and what checks, other than the Secretary of State rubber-stamping what comes from the regional authorities, will be in place. People who live in the relevant regions, and who pay local and national taxes that fund the regional authorities’ work, need to feel confident that their views are being taken into account.