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Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

Public Bill Committee, 1 February 2007.

Written evidence to be reported to the House

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Good morning. Welcome to the proceedings. Will the witnesses please introduce themselves to the Committee?

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Thank you. The first question is a general one.

Alistair Burt (Conservative, North East Bedfordshire)

It is not big stuff, is it?

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Let us move on to the other views of Unlock Democracy.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Thank you. We move to part 2 of the Bill that deals with elections in England.

Alison Seabeck (Labour, Plymouth, Devonport)

You can.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

We move on to part 3 of the Bill.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

We move on to part 4 of the Bill now, which is about parishes.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

None of my constituents have ever told me that, I shall go down the public library and find out.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

Not within active memory.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

We move on to part 5 on the co-operation of English authorities with local partners.

Adrian Bailey (Labour, West Bromwich West)

Minister, I will just read you the briefing from Kent on that very point. It says, “While benefit payments may be nationally set”—that is valid—“why isn’t back-to-work spending by the DWP a wholly local decision?”

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

I want to move on to part 6 of the Bill, which deals with byelaws.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

I will allow one just more supplementary, because it is important that we get to part 11.

David Burrowes (Conservative, Enfield, Southgate)

Do you want me to move on to part 9 on standards?

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Yes.

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

Can we move on to part 11?

Joe Benton (Labour, Bootle)

I am sorry, but we have come to the end of our time. On behalf of the Committee, I thank the witnesses for coming this morning. Your views are much appreciated.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to this sitting of the Committee. I remind participants that the acoustics in the room leave something to be desired, so I encourage people to speak up. I welcome three Ministers—I do not know what a collective of Ministers is called: I suggest a mint of Ministers. Thank you for coming along this afternoon.

We shall go straight into the first question from Alistair Burt.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

That is fair enough. I had the pleasure of being a member of a joint waste authority once.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That is a useful point at which to move on to part 2, because it deals with election—

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

We now come to part 2.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That brings us to part 3.

Tom Levitt (Labour, High Peak)

Sorry, was that figure 85,000?

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

I think that the hon. Member for Stourbridge has a question as well.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That brings us to part 4, which deals with parishes.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That brings us to part 5. Andrew Gwynne.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

I am going to stop you there because we are only concerned with what is in the Bill rather than what might be in another one.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

Given the LGA’s evidence that they are concerned about it, I hope that you are thinking positively about it.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

They did, yes.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

I think we are going to call a halt to the answer there. Alistair, do you have any more questions?

Alistair Burt (Conservative, North East Bedfordshire)

No.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That brings us to part 6 of the Bill.

David Burrowes (Conservative, Enfield, Southgate)

There is provision for extending local authorities’ powers to create byelaws, but I understand that enforcement of those byelaws is subject to the Secretary of State’s approval.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

We now go on to Part 7.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

Alistair Burt has a question onpart 8.

Alistair Burt (Conservative, North East Bedfordshire)

I am sorry. This is about local services inspection and audit. The LGA has proposed what it called in its brief “a more forward looking approach”, in which the Audit Commission and other inspectorates would “set out a forward programme of inspections for a locality over a 2/3 yr period”. That is not what is in the Bill, but would you not be minded to move toward that?

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

That brings us on to part 9.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

We have no questions on part 10, so that brings us to part 11.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

Shall we let the Minister deal with one point at a time?

Patrick Hall (Labour, Bedford)

Yes indeed, but I had not finished that point, Mr. Chope. To address that gap, would Ministers consider, during the next couple of weeks, letting the Committee have sight of some draft guidance for councils on how they would commission the host organisations to set up LINKs in their own areas?

Patrick Hall (Labour, Bedford)

It is hoping to do so by the end of March.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

The Minister’s response has provoked a lot of interest among Members, and I will try to fit them all in before the 4 o’clock deadline.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

They will be?

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

But what about the acute trusts?

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

We have to stop now because we are not allowed to go on beyond Four o’clock. Perhaps the Ministers might respond to that last question in writing.

Bob Neill (Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst)

I would be grateful for that.

Christopher Chope (Conservative, Christchurch)

Because we have to stop at four, I should like to thank everybody for coming along and for answering the questions. Because this is the last evidence-taking session—unless we have more later on—I should like to thank particularly the Committee Clerks and those in the Clerks Department. Without their assistance, we would never have been able to make as much progress as we have done. Thank you, also, to all the witnesses for coming along today.

Further consideration adjourned—[Jonathan Shaw.]