Information in Connection with Proposals for Abolition of Authorities

Part of Orders of the Day — Local Government (Interim Provisions) Bill – in the House of Commons at 6:30 pm on 22 May 1984.

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Photo of Mr Tony Banks Mr Tony Banks , Newham North West 6:30, 22 May 1984

Precisely. We want to know what other bodies will be given the information. We assume that they must be the unelected and unaccountable quangos about which we have heard so much. If they are not, perhaps the Minister will let us into the secret. We could then all discuss the matter with the same level of information. He has not yet revealed to the Committee the information that he possesses about the legislation. We are batting around in the dark because the Government are deliberately keeping us in the dark, and they have done so from the beginning. The clause and everything relating to it is part of the ill-conceived, badly thought-out legislation now before us.

I read with great interest the press statements from the Department of the Environment. I have one about a speech made by the Secretary of State at the Penta hotel at Heathrow. Perhaps he was on his way out of the country. I would not mourn the news of his long absence. In the press statement, the right hon. Gentleman said about the GLC: we will dispense its services to authorities that already exist. That is not true. Nearly half of the services in London will be transferred to unelected, unaccountable quangos —those connected with buying, the joint board for debt management, the joint voluntary committee for traffic management, the London planning commission and the board to run the South Bank. I advise the Secretary of State to look at the figures. Of the £867 million of net rate-borne expenditure in 1983–84, the Department of the Environment considers that only £436 million is transferable to borough responsibility — the remainder will be the responsibility of unelected, unaccountable quangos. I assume that those bodies will be given information from the GLC and the metropolitan county councils. An elected body should not be required to hand over information to unelected bodies.

I am sure that, in view of what the Secretary of State has said, the Minister will be prepared to accept the amendments.