Amendment Paper as at
Thursday 23rd January 2003
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
REGIONAL ASSEMBLIES (PREPARATIONS) BILL
NEW CLAUSES
Further referendum on petition
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies if an elected assembly for a region has been established pursuant to a referendum held under section 1(1).
(2) The Secretary of State shall by order cause a further referendum to be held in a region specified in the order if he is presented with a petition requesting such a referendum signed by not less than 5 per cent. of the electors eligible to vote in the region as defined in section 3(1).
(3) The question to be asked in a referendum held pursuant to an order under subsection (2) above is the question set out in section 2(1).'.
Pre-Referendum
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Secretary of State may by order cause a referendum to be held throughout England about the establishment of elected regional assemblies and the re-organisation of local government within regions with elected assemblies.
(2) The date of the referendum must be specified in the order.
(3) No order under subsection (1) may be made unless a draft order under subsection (1)(a) of section (Regional Boundaries) has been published.
(4) The questions to be asked in a referendum held in pursuance of an order under subsection (1) are—
| "(1) | Do you support the proposals for the creation of regions in England, as proposed by the Secretary of State and the subsequent holding of regional referendums in regions where sufficient levels of interest exist, about the creation of elected regional assemblies? |
| (2) | Do you support the idea of reorganising local government in areas that currently have both county and district or borough councils into single-tier unitary authorities if an elected regional assembly is created?". |
(5) The questions must be preceded by a statement from the Electoral Commission, setting out any information it believes requisite for the proper understanding by persons entitled to vote of the questions.
(6) Sections 3 and 4 of this Act shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to a referendum held pursuant to subsection (1).'.
Certification prior to referendum
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'.(1) Before making an order under section 1(1), the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that, during the period of twelve months prior to the laying of the order, neither the Regional Chamber nor the Regional Development Agency within the region to be specified in the order have carried out any activities which they do not have power to carry out and which are intended to influence the outcome of such a referendum.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, prior to making an order under section 1(1) and after satisfying himself in accordance with subsection (1), issue a certificate confirming that he is so satisfied.'.
Inspection of Boundary Committee recommendations
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies if the Secretary of State makes an order under section 1 to cause a referendum to be held in a region about the establishment of an elected assembly for the region.
(2) The Secretary of State shall by order provide that a copy of any recommendations made by the Boundary Committee under section 12 in respect of the region in which the referendum is held shall be made available for inspection by those persons eligible to vote at every polling place in the region and shall be enclosed with every postal ballot paper issued in respect of the referendum.'.
Definition of Regions
Andrew George
Mr Paul Tyler
Matthew Taylor
Mr Colin Breed
NC6
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State may by order define regions for the purposes of this Act.
(2) In exercising his power under subsection (1) the Secretary of State shall define Cornwall as a region.
(3) An order under this section shall be subject to affirmative resolutions of both Houses of Parliament.'.
Commencement
Mr Charles Kennedy
Mr Edward Davey
Mr A.J. Beith
Matthew Green
Mr Andrew Stunell
Matthew Taylor
NC7
To move the following Clause:—
'. This Act shall not come into force until legislation setting out the powers of elected assemblies for the regions of England (except London) has received Royal Assent.'.
Regional boundaries
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
NC8
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) Before making any order under Parts 1, 2 or 3 the Secretary of State shall—
| (a) | invite all local authorities in England (except London) to submit to him proposals for the creation of regions for the purposes of this Act; and |
| (b) | invite such other persons and bodies as appear to him to represent relevant interests throughout England (except London) to submit to him proposals for the creation of regions for the purposes of this Act; and |
| (c) | upon receipt of submissions in response to paragraphs (a) and (b) invite the Electoral Commission to comment on the submissions and to make proposals to the Secretary of State for the creation of regions for the purposes of this Act having regard to— |
| (i) | the desirability of all regions being, in so far as is not incompatible with (ii) below, of approximately equal population size; and |
| (ii) | the need to reflect the identities and interests of local communities |
| (d) | publish the proposals made to him by the Electoral Commission under paragraph (c); and |
| (e) | make an order creating regions for the purposes of this Act, having regard to the proposals published under paragraph (d). |
(2) For the purposes of this section "relevant interests" means professional bodies, trades unions, voluntary organisations, faith groups, political parties, business organisations and community organisations.
(3) For the purposes of subsection 1 paragraphs (a) and (b), the Secretary of State shall set out a timetable for the giving of responses to him.'.
Andrew George
Mr Paul Tyler
Matthew Taylor
Mr Colin Breed
Matthew Green
Mr Edward Davey
16
Page 1, line 7 [Clause 1], at end insert—
'( ) The Secretary of State may by order vary the regional boundaries set out in the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998.
( ) It is immaterial whether more or fewer regions are created as a result.'.
Andrew George
Mr Paul Tyler
Matthew Taylor
Mr Colin Breed
17
Page 1, line 7 [Clause 1], at end insert—
'The Secretary of State may by order:
| (a) | vary the regional boundaries set out in the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998; and |
| (b) | at the same time cause a referendum to be held in any new region created by that order.'. |
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
2
Page 1, line 8 [Clause 1], at end insert—
'(2A) No order may be made under subsection 1 unless a referendum has been held pursuant to section (pre-Referendum) and the Secretary of State has considered the result of the referendum and determined on the basis of it that sufficient interest exists in the creation of elected regional assemblies.'.
Mr Charles Kennedy
Mr Edward Davey
Mr A.J. Beith
Matthew Green
Mr Andrew Stunell
Matthew Taylor
26
Page 1, line 13 [Clause 1], leave out 'made recommendations' and insert 'been directed to prepare to carry out a review'.
Mr Secretary Prescott
4
Page 2, line 16 [Clause 1], after 'may' insert 'by order'
Mr Secretary Prescott
5
Page 2, line 24 [Clause 2], after 'statement' insert '(in as nearly as may be the following form)'.
Mr Secretary Prescott
6
Page 2, line 27 [Clause 2], leave out from second 'region' to end of line 33 and insert 'If an elected assembly is to be established, it is intended that:
| | the elected assembly would be responsible for a range of activities currently carried out mainly by central government bodies, including regional economic development; and |
| | local government would be reorganised into a single tier in those parts of the region that currently have both county and district councils. There would be no such reorganisation of other local authorities in the region.'. |
As Amendments to Mr Secretary Prescott's proposed Amendment (No. 6) (Page 2, line 27 [Clause 2]):
David Davis
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Philip Hammond
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Desmond Swayne
(a)
Line 5, after 'development', insert 'and most of the planning functions currently carried out by County Councils in areas where they exist'.
