HC Deb 11 June 1975 vol 893 cc403-5
17. Mr. Cryer

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals for the improvement of local government administration; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Silkin

Local authorities are themselves responsible for their own internal administration, within the framework laid down by Parliament.

Mr. Cryer

Does my right hon. Friend accept that many people feel alienated and isolated in the new giant authorities created by the Conservative Government's Act? Does he agree that the creation of lavish public relations departments to counteract that alienation is not the solution? Will he urgently consider some form of decentralisation, especially for areas like Keighley, which are geographically remote from the centre? Will he ensure, for example, that they function like the old excepted areas for education? Finally—

Mr. Speaker

Order. That is four supplementary questions already.

Mr. Silkin

The kindest thing that I ever said about the prospect of local government reorganisation when the Bill was going through in 1971 was that it would be an expensive disaster. However, the difficulty that one is in is that although it has been a disaster and has unquestionably created an enormous upheaval, it has been in operation for only 12 months, and so much has taken place during that time that it is difficult to see what changes could be made at this moment. But I take my hon. Friend's point that remoteness and lack of accountability are the major difficulties in local government today.

Mr. Speed

Is the Minister aware that it would be a "best buy" in comparison with the land nationalisation Bill which he is pushing forward? Will he confirm, as he said earlier this year, that he has no plans in the foreseeable future for changing the present reorganised set-up of local government? Surely we can all agree that their job now is to get on and make the thing work.

Mr. Silkin

The answer to the second question at least flowed from what I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer). It would be an even more monstrous upheaval at the moment and would be quite wrong. To the first question, about land being publicly owned by local authorities, the answer is, "No".

Mr. Mark Hughes

When does my right hon. Friend expect to be in a position to inform the House about the take-up of cases by the local government ombudsmen over the last year?

Mr. Silkin

That is an example of a fairly cost-effective organisation. I think that the take-up is running now at about 80 cases a week. It obviously started at very much of a trickle, because, under their constitution the local government ombudsmen were permitted to deal only with matters of maladministration as from April last year. The take-up is therefore on a rising peak. I think that the figures are correct, but if I am wrong I shall write to my hon. Friend.

Mr. Graham Page

I agree with the right hon. Member that this is mainly the local councils' job, but I disagree with him when he says that reorganisation was disastrous. Is there not a field in which he could assist local authorities and others by seeing whether the agency arrangements are being carried out to the full, so that there is no duplication of work between the two spheres of local government? Can he give greater advice on the agency arrangements than has so far been given by his Department?

Mr. Silkin

That is certainly one of the difficulties, but it was a difficulty—as I hope the right hon. Gentleman will, perhaps reluctantly, agree—which was inherent in reorganisation. It arose out of a lack of clear definition in the right hon. Gentleman's reorganisation proposals. But of course we are constantly trying to improve that situation. These matters flow quite naturally into the Community Land Bill under Clause 19 and into the land acquisition and management schemes.