BUILDING (Hansard, 19 June 1973)

§ Mr. Maclennan
I beg to move Amendment No. 360, in page 76, line 14, leave out 'Highland'.

§ Mr. Speaker
With this amendment we may also discuss Amendment No. 361, in Clause 161, page 95, line 32, leave out 'Highland'.

§ Mr. Maclennan
The purpose of the first amendment is to transfer the functions exercisable under the Building Acts which the Bill gives to the regions in the Highlands, although elsewhere in Scotland, apart from the Borders and the South-West, these functions are to be exercised by the district councils.
The background to the decision is the White Paper, which departed from the recommendations of the Wheatley Commission. It was a serious misjudgment by the Government. I have received representations about it, of which the Minister is aware, from a number of local authorities in the Highlands, not only those lying within my constituency.
The point of departure for me is the view expressed in paragraph 744 of the commission's report that the elected regional authority for the Highlands and Islands should have the same statutory functions as the others in other parts of Scotland. The difficulty stems from the Government's decision to have a substantially larger number of districts in the Highland areas than those recommended by the Commission, the consequence of which is that a number of the new district authorities in the Highlands will be extremely small. By transferring the responsibilities to the regional authority the Government are running a serious risk of reducing the district authorities to bodies which will not have the status to attract people of the right calibre to stand for them or to attract officials of the required expertise.
The importance of these functions relates to their connection with planning. The commission made an unanswerable case for having some planning functions 506 in every authority, both regional and district. It felt that the planning functions were essentially those which gave the authority a definite stake in the overall welfare of its area. I should like to inscribe in the record of our proceedings part of paragraph 714(a), in which the commission says that in its view local planning, redevelopment, control of the countryside, housing improvement and libraries are functions suitable to be exercised at the second tier. It continues: Planning in particular gives coherence to all the local functions, and especially to those concerned with amenity. More than any other function, planning entitles a local authority to regard itself as having a definite stake in the overall welfare of its area. That is an unanswerable point of view. Fears are being expressed in the Highlands that, albeit the districts are to enjoy the housing function, without some local planning powers including those under the Building Acts, they will not be bodies—

§ Mr. Maclennan
The district councils will not be bodies which are capable of attracting the highest quality people.
I accept the view expressed to me in discussion by the Under-Secretary of State that some new district authorities are so tiny that they cannot reasonably be expected to sustain a full planning staff. That is unanswerable, but it should have been dealt with within the framework of the Bill under the provisions of Clause 56 which empower two or more local authorities to discharge functions jointly. The best solution might have been to allow districts in the Highlands to discharge some of these local planning powers jointly if they choose so to do. That would have got over the problem of the extremely small size.
Amendment No. 361 relates to the provision of library facilities in the Highlands. Here again, the Government have 507 departed from the Wheatley recommendation that library facilities should be exercised by the second tier authorities although, in fairness, the commission had in mind larger district authorities in terms of population than those that have come about as a result of the Government's decision to increase the number of district authorities in the Highlands.
The provision of library facilities in the Highlands is an intimate function which depends largely on an understanding not merely of the needs of the region but of the needs of the communities in which travelling libraries operate. It is a peculiarly personal service in the Highlands in a way it is not in other parts of Scotland. For that reason, if for no other, it would make sense to allow the districts to operate that facility. Again it is possible for the districts to come together to discharge the function so as to increase the resources available.
The Government could easily concede the amendment without breaching an important principle. As I have had singularly little success in my efforts to persuade the Government—an experience common to most of us—I hope that on this small matter the Government will break their duck.

§ Mr. Younger
I appreciate that the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) has strong feelings about these matters. I will take the two functions separately, bearing in mind that on Amendment No. 362 we shall have a chance to discuss the principle.
On the question of building control, Clause 132 as drafted is linked to Clause 170 which provides that in the Highland, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway regions the regional council shall be responsible for both district and regional planning functions.
Paragraph 35 of the White Paper on the Reform of Local Government in Scotland indicated that as building control went naturally with local planning, both functions should be the responsibility of the same authority—that is to say, the regional authority in the Highlands, Borders and South-West.
The case for transferring the building control function to the new regional authority in the Highland region stands or falls with the transfer of the local 508 planning functions. Without prejudice to any further debate which we may have, let us suppose that we were to agree, which I know we do not, that the planning function should go to the region. I suggest that the building control function should go with it and that that function should settle the matter without prejudice to any discussion which we may have on planning affairs generally.
Since the publication of the White Paper, "The Reorganisation of Local Government in Scotland" most of the representations about the proposed arrangements for public libraries have been directed to having them made a regional responsibility in all regions. Among the possible amendments to the Bill which the Convention of Royal Burghs sent to all members of the Scottish Standing Committee was one proposing that the library service should be operated by the district councils in the Highlands, the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.
Although the Government agree that the library service is intended mainly to serve local needs and is therefore in general appropriate to the district, regard must also be had to the importance of providing an adequate service. The district authorities in most of the Highland districts would lack the staff and other resources to provide a satisfactory service.
The Report of the Secretary of State's working party "Standards for the Public Library Service in Scotland" considered that a population of 30,000 was needed for a basic library service. The Royal Commission Report considered that the Scottish Library Association's suggestion of 100,000 "except in the more remote areas" was "a reasonable target". Of the eight Highland districts five will have populations of about 20,000 or less. While Inverness District, with a population of about 50,000, might well run an adequate library service most of the other districts, on that criteria, could not.
It may be argued that if the Island authorities of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles can run their own library services, so could some of the Highland districts. However, we must recognise that each of these areas is relatively isolated and that the arguments for making them responsible for libraries do not apply to mainland areas.
509 I hope that I have indicated that I appreciate the concern which has been expressed about these two functions. However, we must see the building control function as linked to planning. The point which has been made about libraries is, I think, a matter of opinion which I appreciated is held quite firmly by many people. We must ensure that 510 the size of authorities is sufficient to provide an adequate service and with the best will in the world, and even with the enthusiasm which I am sure would be brought into it, I do not think that the Highland districts are large enough to provide the full range of services which we want to see provided in those areas.