2. Mr. Ron Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public inquiries authorised by him were held in Scotland during 1980 to examine alleged malpractices by local authorities.
Mr. BrownPublic inquiries always take place in special circumstances, but is not the time overdue for the Secretary of State to look into the well-known case of Mr. Walter Gunkel, a constituent of mine who suffered badly at the hands of Edinburgh district council? Is he not aware 845 that the council is challenging in the courts the findings of the independent arbiter, although that arbiter was agreed to by the council as well as by Mr. Gunkel? Is that not a disgrace? Surely a public inquiry is justified and the general public are entitled to know what has been going on, because at the end of the day they will surely foot the bill for the events in this part of the country under this district council, which, of course, as we knew—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I have been very fair to the hon. Member but it will stop other hon. Members being called if long questions are asked.
§ Mr. RifkindI am aware of the case to which the hon. Gentleman refers. He should appreciate that the Secretary of State's power to call for an inquiry arises only if a local authority fails to carry out its statutory duty. As yet, we have no evidence that that would apply in this case, but I understand that Edinburgh district council is actively considering what response it should make to the arbiter. We hope that this matter will be satisfactorily resolved.
§ Mr. AncramDoes not my hon. Friend agree that there should be a public inquiry into the decision last night by the Labour group on Lothian regional council to make a rates increase of 50 per cent? Does he not agree that that can only lead to thousands of job losses in the region?
§ Mr. RifkindIf that information is correct, it certainly represents an intolerable increase for the people of the Lothian region. I understand that there is a deep division on that recommendation within the Labour group in the region and I hope that more moderate counsel will prevail. However, I must warn the Lothian region that if my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State were to consider that a rates increase of that size suggested an excessive and unreasonable budget, it would inevitably result in the region losing a significant amount of rate support grant. Those concerned should bear that in mind.