[Mr. David Wilshire in the Chair] — Returning Officers (Accountability)

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 10:50 am on 3 February 2010.

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Photo of Michael Wills Michael Wills Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice 10:50, 3 February 2010

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. On the question of the accountability of EROs, we must tread extremely carefully. Anything we do must enhance their independence and integrity. Bob Spink drew attention to the theoretical-but on occasion, actual-risk that local government officers, including EROs, can become subject to political pressure.

The risk falls into three categories. First, local officers can become too "comfortable", as the hon. Gentleman put it, with the dominant political party. Secondly, they can, of course, be pressured by a dominant political party in a local authority. That is not a party political point, as all parties can be dominant in a local authority and the risk arises in all circumstances. Interestingly, when I raised that issue at a recent conference of EROs, one of them stood up and said, "We want protection from councillors who pressurise us, and we want severe sanctions for those local councillors who seek to bully or pressure us to behave in a partisan way." That is clearly a voice that we must hear.

Thirdly, there is at least the possibility of EROs acting in a directly partisan way. As I have said, there is no widespread evidence that that has taken place at all. The great majority of EROs, and the great majority of councillors of all parties-I make that clear-behave in a way that scrupulously respects the integrity and independence of the system. However, we cannot be complacent, so that is something that all of us must look to improve in future.