Clause 2

Part of Sustainable Communities Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 2:00 pm ar 9 Mai 2007.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Phil Woolas Phil Woolas Minister of State (Local Government & Community Cohesion), Department for Communities and Local Government 2:00, 9 Mai 2007

Thank you, for your chairmanship this morning, Mr. Cummings. I picked up over lunch that it was very much appreciated by hon. Members on both sides of the Committee.

Just as I was concluding my remarks in the stand part debate on clause 2, the right hon. Member for West Dorset sought clarification as to our attitude on three points: the timetable, the appointment of the selector and the parliamentary procedure on accountability.

In principle, I have no difficulty about requiring the Secretary of State to invite proposals from principal councils by a particular date. However, I have two riders. As I said, we need to consult on the implementation of the process, not only because that is required under new clause 4(3), but because we need to consult the Local Government Association about taking on the role of the selector. Given the need to consult, I am concerned to avoid the imposition on the Secretary of State of a duty that she is unable to fulfil at this point. I am happy to consider that further. One possibility would be to enable the Secretary of State to commence the provisions of the Bill by order. In that way, she would not commence a duty until she had the relevant powers. The right hon. Gentleman suggested in the margins of the Committee that the wording “she thinks” introduces subjectivity. I am more than happy to consider the proposal to remove that subjectivity so as to give the Committee the reassurance that it needs.

Concerns were expressed this morning about the apparent latitude that new clause 4(2) would give the Secretary of State when appointing the selector. That   subsection was drafted with the LGA in mind for the role, and that is why it is worded in that way. That is what the words

“who must be a person who the Secretary of State thinks represents the interests of principal councils” were intended to emphasise. There is particular concern about the phrase

“who the Secretary of State thinks” and I am happy to think about that.

There was also concern this morning about the absence of any reference to parliamentary procedure in relation to the Secretary of State’s decisions. I entirely agree with the principle that Parliament must be kept fully involved and informed. However, in reality the types of action that councils are likely to propose are changes to the amount or allocation of funding or to legislation, both primary and secondary. Those are matters on which the Secretary of State requires discretion. It would be odd for the Secretary of State to be required to promote legislation with which she did not agree. Those are also matters that would be debated by Parliament in any event. I am concerned about creating a rigid system, which might not make the best use of Parliament’s time. I am happy to debate the Secretary of State’s decisions in Parliament, but we need to leave discretion with her about the content of her decision. As I said, many of the actions undertaken by the Secretary of State will be subject to the scrutiny of Parliament in any event.

Finally, it might be worth considering the possibility of legal challenges, a point that I raised which was picked up by hon. Members. Under new clause 2(9), it seems that the Secretary of State’s ability to reject recommendations or delay their implementation is restricted where the costs of implementation are excessive or implementation is

“likely to conflict, to a significant extent, with a specific government objective.”

If that is the correct interpretation of new clause 2, we believe that there is a risk that a person aggrieved by the Secretary of State’s use of that power would be able to challenge the Secretary of State’s action plan, which would not benefit anyone.

It is also worth making the point that what we are after in this Committee is clear and workable legislation, in particular legislation in which the roles of the Secretary of State and the selector are clear. That is what I am trying to achieve. I hope that that is constructive, and I hope that with your help, Mr. Cummings, we can move forward. I am grateful to Committee members for giving me time to explain the Government’s point of view.