Encroachments on Local Government Autonomy

Part of Orders of the Day — Supply – in the House of Commons at 9:36 pm on 12 November 1981.

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Photo of Mr Tom King Mr Tom King Minister of State (Department of Environment) (Local Government) 9:36, 12 November 1981

I am grateful to you, Mr. Speaker. [HON. MEMBERS: "Withdraw".] Of course, I withdraw immediately. I think that the arguments advanced by the right hon. Gentleman are the grossest hypocrisy. The right hon. Gentleman accused us of seeking to centralise, to interfere and to change the balance fundamentally. It occurs to me that he was a member of a Government whose idea of running local government was an endless avalanche of circulars and Government directives that used to pour out of the Department of the Environment at every conceivable opportunity.

I should like to put the facts so that the House can judge which side of the House is the keenest to interfere and to supervise at every stage. In their last year, the Labour Government issued no fewer than 1,873 circulars to local authorities on how to run their business in every nook and cranny of their activities. I am pleased to say that, under the watchful eye of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, this number has been sharply reduced. The figure in our first year was 671, one-third of the number in the right hon. Gentleman's last year. I am pleased to say that in the second year we reduced that figure by another 50. I am delighted to say that I hope we shall make further economies.

The right hon. Member for Craigton, in his slightly confusing speech, referred to the detailed control over capital expenditure exercised by every Government Department. The right hon. Gentleman is a little out of date. We have now changed that system.