Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon (Local Government)

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall am 11:00 am ar 2 Mawrth 2010.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Keith Simpson Keith Simpson Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) 11:00, 2 Mawrth 2010

Yes, I find that incredible, given that the permanent secretary wrote to my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk-he may want to comment on this later-enclosing not only his letter to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, but the reply.

What prompted the permanent secretary to write to the Secretary of State? In his letter of 8 February, the permanent secretary addressed the ministerial decision to allow unitaries on the current boundaries for Norwich and Exeter. He wrote:

"I do have concerns, principally about their value for money and feasibility".

He noted that

"the original proposals for a unitary Exeter and Norwich do not meet all the five criteria (in particular they do not meet the affordability criterion) but you intend to implement them nevertheless".

On the Secretary of State's argument that a unitary Norwich and a unitary Exeter would eventually achieve economic gains, the permanent secretary wrote:

"The evidence for such gains is mixed and representations that you have received provide no evidence to quantify such benefits".

The permanent secretary concluded:

"My clear legal advice is that the risk of decisions for a unitary Exeter and Norwich, and indeed for not taking action on Suffolk, being successfully challenged in judicial review proceedings is very high".

On 10 February, the Secretary of State replied, spelling out the reasons behind the ministerial-that is, the political-decision and giving the permanent secretary a direction. The Secretary of State argued:

"We have given careful consideration to the circumstances in which there are compelling reasons to depart from the presumption that proposals that meet the criteria are implemented, and those that do not are not implemented".

The Secretary of State kept referring to advice that he had received as the basis of his decision. Who gave that advice? It certainly was not the boundary committee or the permanent secretary. What was that advice? A Freedom of Information request looking into all the letters, e-mails and notes of telephone conversations in the Department would perhaps be revealing. I have in mind the names of one or two external people who might have given that advice. At the very least, the Minister should publish the advice.

The Secretary of State admitted:

"I accept that the Boundary Committee process did not produce evidence to quantify these benefits but nor did we think it right to set these potential benefits...to one side."

That refers to the nub of the ministerial case that in the case of

"a unitary Exeter and a unitary Norwich, we consider that each would be a far more potent force for delivering positive economic accounts both for the city and more widely than the status quo two-tier local government".

That partially economic and partially political argument overrides all the other evidence produced by the boundary committee and, indeed, previous ministerial advice.