Clause 86
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]
9:15 am
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State (Yorkshire and the Humber), Department for Communities and Local Government; Doncaster Central, Labour)
I will address the issue of the Secretary of State’s role first. The Opposition document “Control Shift”, as the hon. Member for Wycombe and the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon said, proposes a similar structure, and it also says that the Secretary of State would be able to grant it. There are important reasons for that, because it is about making sure that all local authorities have been properly involved in drawing up a scheme, that there is the ability to influence it and, therefore, that they have in a sense signed up for it—that the structure will work. That is why there is the ability to refer back to the Secretary of State, in a sense, for endorsement. It is also clear, as I said before, that we expect EPBs and combined authorities to be voluntary for local authorities. It is not about a local authority having to have one; it is about local authorities coming forward and saying, “We believe that this would be beneficial.”
On the point made about subsection (4)(f), political balance provisions that apply to local authorities will apply to EPBs; that is covered in schedule 6. However, those provisions do not apply to executives of local authorities, which are designed to be cabinet-type structures, so we have similarly provided for EPBs to operate with an executive that they choose. I hope that that is a helpful clarification and that the Committee will agree to the clause.