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Local Government and Rating Bill
Not amended (in the Standing Committee), considered.
Ordered,
That the Local Government and Rating Bill be considered in the following order, namely, New Clauses, amendments relating to Clause 1, Schedule 1, Clause 5, Schedule 2, Clauses 2 and 3, Clause 6, Clause 4, Clauses 7 to 33, Schedules 3 and 4, Clauses 34 and 35, New Schedules.--[Mr. Curry.]
'(1) A Parish Council may provide on an agency basis within the Council's area any service within the area by any public body or statutory undertaker.
(2) A Parish Council may make grants towards the enhancement or preservation of any service by any public body or statutory undertaker, including any local authority health authority, public utility, public transport operator, quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation, housing association or any agency or voluntary body acting on behalf of or as contractor to any such body in exercise of their functions.'.--[Mr. Rendel.]
Brought up, and read the First time.
7.2 pm
Mr. David Rendel (Newbury): I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse): With this, it will be convenient to discuss also the following: New clause 3--Audit--
'( ) Before a parish council or community council may exercise a power given to it under this Part it shall subject its accounts to audit in accordance with Part III of the Local Government Finance Act 1982.'.
New clause 4--Local partnerships--
Mr. Rendel:
I am grateful for the opportunity to move new clause 1. As Liberal Democrats have said all along, the Bill is generally to be welcomed, because to some extent it enhances local powers. However, we have tabled the new clause because the Bill misses a good opportunity--it misses more than one good opportunity--to do much more to enhance local powers and to devolve central powers down to local councils.
When speaking in Committee about part III of the Bill, which deals with new powers for parish councils, the Minister said
Some parishes are very small and may not wish, or may not be able, to take on many new powers. Other parishes, however, are now remarkably large, and some are even as
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It would be wrong to impose on all parishes all the powers that might be granted to the larger parishes, but there is no reason why the Bill should not at least enable parishes to take on greater powers if they feel that they are able to do so and are sufficiently large. That consideration is why new clause 1 would provide parishes with the opportunity to take such powers. Larger parishes may wish to take up those powers, even if the smaller ones do not.
The first part of the new clause would provide parishes with an opportunity to act as agent for other bodies. An important point, however, is that they would also be able to purchase improved services or even, in some cases, to preserve services that might otherwise be stopped because of financial cuts imposed on higher-level authorities.
Subsidiarity is the principle behind the new clause. Liberal Democrats believe that we should not only talk about devolving powers to lower level authorities but implement devolution whenever possible. I congratulate the Government on, to some extent, implementing that objective in the Bill. The principle of subsidiarity, however, should not be half-hearted, or available in some areas and to some authorities but not more generally. If it is true that we should pass down powers from Europe to national Governments, it is equally true that we should pass down powers from national to local authorities and from larger local authorities to smaller ones.
If the Government are genuinely to fulfil their pledge that they believe in subsidiarity, and if the Labour party is to fulfil its similar pledge, I hope that they will accept new clause 1.
Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon):
I apologise for missing the first minute of the speech of the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Rendel). I assume that he believes, in moving new clause 1, which deals with parish councils, that its provisions should apply equally to community councils in Wales. An argument can certainly be made for certain powers to be given to larger community councils in Wales.
When one thinks of towns such as my home town of Caernarfon and of Colwyn Bay--which have the status of a community council, with very few powers--the need for change to current legislation is apparent. Towns such as Colwyn Bay may exist in a local authority in which the hinterland and the town itself have very different natures. They therefore require the ability to fine-tune policies to respond to the wishes of an urban area, such as Colwyn Bay or Llandudno, for example, as distinct from the wishes of the entire district or county authority in which they are located. I am not certain whether the wording of new clause 1 is appropriate to achieve that aim, although I am sure that the Minister will tell us.
In coming years, there will be a growing tide of pressure from identifiable communities, such as those I have mentioned, to be provided with greater autonomy and to be able to take the decisions that they can take for themselves--which is, after all, the basis of the concept of subsidiarity.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield):
In principle I support the comments of the hon. Member for Newbury
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If it is any consolation to the hon. Gentleman, I know that some Conservative Members support the idea behind the new clause, which is to pass greater powers down to parish, town and community councils, to enable them, with their unique knowledge of the areas they serve, to carry out jobs currently carried out either by borough or district councils, perhaps even by county councils, or even, occasionally, by the Government. That work is more appropriately undertaken by those--I hope that they will forgive me for using this phrase--who operate at the grass roots level of local politics.
If, in due course, the concept behind the new clause is taken up and additional powers are granted to parish, town and community councils, perhaps more people will seek to serve in local government--people who have local knowledge and commitment and want to serve those with whom they live. They could bring to that task a unique knowledge of their area. I thus warmly support the new clause.
Mrs. Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough):
I shall be brief. I support new clause 1 in principle, but wish to relate it to new clause 3. If we are considering giving new powers to any public organisation, those organisations should be subject to proper scrutiny and public accountability. New clause 3 provides that, if a parish, town or other council is to be given new powers, its accounts should be carefully audited by the district auditor before those powers are granted in order to ensure that it is absolutely appropriate to proceed.
New clause 3 is important because there is a significant difference between a parish council and a local community association. Both can be used for consultative purposes--the consultation role is extremely important--but the power of parish councils derives from their power to levy a precept and manage a budget. That is what makes parish councils different and what makes it important that their public accountability should be stressed in the Bill.
'(1) Where a parish council or community council exercises a power under sections 26 to 30, it shall have regard to any transport plans published by a local authority in its area which co-ordinates local partnerships, including any interested body.
(2) Where a parish council or community council exercises a power under section 30, it shall have regard to any community safety or crime prevention plans published by a local authority in its area which co-ordinates local partnerships, including any interested body.'.
"It is a deliberately limited measure".--[Official Report, Standing Committee B, 3 December 1996; c. 147.]
I do not know whether it was deliberate, but it is certainly limited. The purpose of new clause 1 is greatly to enhance the new powers provided in the Bill to parishes.
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