English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill – in the House of Commons am 6:00 pm ar 25 Tachwedd 2025.
Pleidleisiau yn y ddadl hon
Amendments made: 152, page 266, line 2, after “But” insert “—
(a) a local authority may operate a committee system only—
(i) if it is operating a committee system immediately before section 57 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2025 comes into force, and
(ii) for as long as the operation of a committee system is consistent with the provisions of section 9K; and
(b)”.
This would amend section 9B LGA 2000 to make clear that a committee system can only be operated by a local authority that is already operating that system and where the new section 9K (in Amendment 153) allows it to continue to operate it.
Amendment 153, page 266, line 26, leave out sub-paragraph (2) and insert—
“(2) For section 9K (changing from one form of governance to another) substitute—
“9K Committee system: change to leader and cabinet executive (England)
Introduction
(1) This section sets out the circumstances in which a local authority that is operating a committee system must or may move to a leader and cabinet executive.
Committee system not protected
(2) If the local authority’s committee system is not protected, it must move to a leader and cabinet executive; and no resolution is needed and no referendum is to be held (despite any other provision of this Chapter which would otherwise require or authorise a resolution or referendum).
The local authority must comply with that duty so that it moves to a leader and cabinet executive before the end of the period of one year beginning with the commencement day.
Protected committee system
(3) If the local authority’s committee system is protected, it must undertake and publish a review of whether the local authority should move to a leader and cabinet executive.
(4) The review—
(a) must be undertaken and published before the end of the 1 year decision period;
(b) must have regard to the need to secure effective and convenient local government for the area of the local authority;
(c) if it concludes that the local authority should not move to a leader and cabinet executive, must include the reasons why the committee system is an appropriate form of governance for the local authority.
(5) After the review is published, the local authority must act in accordance with subsection (6), (7) or (8).
The local authority must have regard to the review when choosing how to act.
(6) The local authority may pass a resolution to continue to operate the committee system.
Any such resolution must be passed before the end of the 1 year decision period.
(7) The local authority may act in accordance with this Chapter to hold a referendum on moving to a leader and cabinet executive (and then, following the referendum, must act in accordance with this Chapter).
Any such action must be taken so that—
(a) the referendum is held before the end of the 1 year decision period, and
(b) if the result of the referendum approves the move, the local authority moves to a leader and cabinet executive before the end of the period of 1 year beginning with the day of the referendum.
(8) The local authority may act in accordance with this Chapter to move to a leader and cabinet executive without holding a referendum (despite any other provision of this Chapter which would otherwise require a referendum).
Any such action must be taken so that—
(a) the resolution to move to a leader and cabinet executive is passed before the end of the 1 year decision period, and
(b) the local authority moves to a leader and cabinet executive before the end of the period of one year beginning with the date of the resolution.
(9) If a local authority’s committee system is protected, a petition cannot require a local authority to hold a referendum in accordance with regulations under section 9MC until both—
(a) the relevant protection period has ended, and
(b) the local authority has—
(i) passed a resolution in accordance with subsection (6),
(ii) acted in accordance with subsection (7) by holding a referendum which does not approve the move to a leader and cabinet executive, or
(iii) acted in accordance with subsection (7) or (8) by completing the move to a leader and cabinet executive.
Subsequent move to leader and cabinet executive
(10) If the local authority’s committee system is protected, and it retains the committee system after acting in accordance with subsections (3) to (8), it may subsequently move to a leader and cabinet executive in accordance with this Chapter.
Local authority subject to dissolution
(11) This section—
(a) does not apply to a local authority if a dissolution order has been made in relation to the local authority before the commencement day;
(b) ceases to apply to a local authority if a dissolution order is made in relation to the local authority on or after the commencement day.
Accordingly the local authority is not to move to a leader and cabinet executive in accordance with any provision of this section after the commencement day or (as the case may be) on or after the day when the dissolution order is made.
Interpretation
(12) For the purposes of this section, a local authority’s committee system is “protected” if the committee system—
(a) became or remained the local authority’s governance arrangements following a referendum, and the 10 year referendum protection period has not ended on the commencement day, or
(b) became or remained the local authority’s governance arrangements by virtue of a resolution (but not following a referendum), and the 5 year resolution protection period has not ended on the commencement day.
(13) In this section—
“commencement day” means the day on which section 57 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2025 comes into force;
“dissolution order” means an order under section 7 or 10 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 providing for the dissolution of a local authority;
“move to a leader and cabinet executive” means—
(a) cease to operate the committee system, and
(b) start to operate a leader and cabinet executive (England);
and related expressions are to be construed accordingly;
“protected” has the meaning given in subsection (12);
“relevant protection period” , in relation to a local authority whose committee system is protected, means whichever of the—
(a) 5 year resolution protection period, and
(b) 10 year referendum protection period,
applies to the local authority;
“1 year decision period” means the period of one year beginning with the day immediately after the last day of the relevant protection period;
“5 year resolution protection period” , in relation to a resolution by virtue of which the committee system became or remained the local authority’s governance arrangements, means the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the resolution was passed;
“10 year referendum protection period” , in relation to a referendum following which the committee system became or remained the local authority’s governance arrangements, means the period of 10 years beginning with the day on which the referendum was held.””.
This would enable a local authority to continue to operate the committee system if it has been adopted by resolution within the five years before commencement, or following a referendum within the 10 years before commencement.
Amendment 154, page 267, line 17, at end insert—
“(2A) In section 9KC (resolution of local authority), after subsection (3) insert—
“(3A) Subsection (4) also applies if a local authority passes a resolution to continue to operate the committee system in accordance with section 9K(6); and, in such a case, “Resolution A” means the resolution to continue to operate the committee system.””.
This would ensure that a resolution under new section 9K(6) LGA 2000 (in Amendment 153) would trigger the application of section 9KC(4) LGA 2000.
Amendment 155, page 267, line 21, leave out from “substitute” to end of line 22 and insert
““(Committee system: change to leader and cabinet executive (England))””.
This is consequential on Amendment 153.
Amendment 156, page 270, line 4, leave out paragraph 7.—(Miatta Fahnbulleh.)
Amendment 153 would enable certain local authorities to continue to operate the committee system and so paragraph 7 (which repeals legislation about the committee system) is no longer needed.
Third Reading
King’s consent signified.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
6:38,
25 Tachwedd 2025
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
I am privileged to be able to open this Third Reading debate following constructive debates on Report. Let me first reiterate my thanks to Members on both sides of the House for their thoughtful contributions during the Bill’s passage.
The Bill cements the Government’s commitment to powering up our regions, rebuilding local government and empowering our communities, which is fundamental to achieving the changes that our constituents expect and deserve: better living standards, improved public services and politics being done with communities, not to them. This Government’s ambition is to bring power and decision making closer to the people who know their areas best. The Bill will truly empower residents to shape the places where they live and work, and from fixing our broken local audit system to empowering mayors to unlock the economic potential of their places, it will set local government on a firmer footing and enable local leaders to deliver a decade of national renewal. These changes are long overdue, and we are now taking ambitious action where previous Governments have failed.
I extend my thanks to everyone who has played a role in getting the Bill to this stage. I am particularly grateful to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for his dedication and commitment to this agenda. I am also grateful to my hon. Friend Jim McMahon for his leadership, and for the huge amount of work that he put into developing this impressive piece of legislation. I thank the Members on both sides of the House who scrutinised the Bill in such detail in Committee, and I thank the Shadow Minister, David Simmonds, for his constructive and, for the most part, collaborative approach.
Let me also put on record my thanks to representatives of the wider local government sector, especially those who gave evidence earlier this year. They are critical actors in providing the frontline services that residents need and deserve, and, whether they are councillors, mayors, police and crime commissioners or third sector representatives, the House thanks them for their service. I hope that colleagues in the other place continue to take the same collaborative approach that has been taken in this House, and I wish Baroness Taylor of Stevenage the best with moving the Bill forward. I commend it to the House.
David Simmonds
Opposition Whip (Commons), Shadow Minister (Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
6:41,
25 Tachwedd 2025
I will speak briefly. There is a high degree of consensus on some of the objectives that the Government have set out. We share the ambition to deliver more homes, and we share the ambition on economic growth and devolution. However, the alternative stimulants that the Government have chosen essentially involve more bureaucracy, more centralisation and new taxes, all of which will stand in the way of the delivery of those ambitions.
We, as an Opposition, are very clear about this. The things that our communities, our constituents and our local businesses want and need are not contained in the Bill. It cancels elections, it reduces local democracy, it centralises power with a swathe of new ministerial diktats, it raises taxes through an unwanted, unbriefed new tourism tax, and it opens the door to new unlimited mayoral levies that can be used at ministerial fiat, not on the say-so of local residents. It is a let-down for those who hoped to support it and a betrayal of the ambition of those who support our local democracy. We will oppose the Bill’s Third Reading.
Question put, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
Rhif adran 369
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Third Reading
Ellie Chowns
Green Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs), Green Spokesperson (Social Care), Green Spokesperson (Housing, Communities and Local Government), Green Spokesperson (Business and Trade), Green Spokesperson (Defence), Green Spokesperson (Education), Green Party Westminster Leader
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Prime Minister said something that was inaccurate during his statement on the G20 summit and Ukraine, when he wrongly said:
“The Green party…says that we should pull out of NATO”.
That is not correct. Our party policy explicitly says that we recognise that NATO, while imperfect and in need of reform, has an important role in ensuring the ability of member states to respond to threats to their security. We support the principle of international solidarity, whereby nations support one another through mutual defence alliances and multilateral security frameworks. Madam Deputy Speaker, what advice can you provide on the Prime Minister correcting the record?
Nusrat Ghani
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, Norwich Livestock Market Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee, Chair, General Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee
I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving notice of her point of order. It is not a point of order for the Chair, but she has most definitely put her point on the record.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
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Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The House of Lords. When used in the House of Lords, this phrase refers to the House of Commons.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
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The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
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The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
