Local Government (Hansard, 7 February 1985)

§ 7. Sir John Farr
asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what new proposals he has to strengthen the structure of local government in Northern Ireland.

§ Mr. Hurd
The Government will consider any new proposals for regional or local administration that command widespread acceptance throughout the community.

§ Sir John Farr
I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. May I draw his attention to the recent Assembly report, which shows that a strengthening of local government responsibility would be welcomed? As it is widely felt that certain central Government responsibilities could now be transferred to local government, will my right hon. Friend consider initiating a conference on the subject in the spring in the Province?

§ Mr. Hurd
I am not very enthusiastic about transferring powers to the existing district councils in Northern Ireland, for reasons which should be apparent to anyone who studies that scene at the moment. My hon. Friend is right, however, in saying that the Assembly Committee has made a preliminary report, although it did not attempt to discuss the basic matters which he rightly raises. I hope that in the coming weeks a further report, although not necessarily a final report, will be produced. The Committee is handicapped in that the SDLP is not represented on it or giving evidence to it, but a further report could examine on behalf of the parties represented on the Committee various options which they believe are worth carrying forward.

§ Mr. McNamara
Can the Secretary of State tell us whether, when he met the IRA, and when his noble Friend Lord Whitelaw and his hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry met the IRA, they confronted the IRA on the question of violence, or did they merely talk about local government?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. That question would more appropriately have been asked on the preceding question, although I did not manage to call the hon. Gentleman then.

§ Mr. McNamara
With respect, Mr. Speaker—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. Does the question relate to strengthening the structure of local government?

§ Mr. McNamara
With respect, Mr. Speaker, I asked whether the Secretary of State discussed those matters or whether he discussed local government.

§ Mr. Hurd
I never discussed local government on that occasion.

§ Rev. William McCrea
Could not the Secretary of State's failure to proscribe Sinn Fein destroy the present local government set-up rather than strengthen it?

§ Mr. Hurd
No, Sir. That is a separate question, but I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman's conclusion.

§ Mr. Molyneaux
Would not some suggestion of an enhanced role for councillors encourage many people of real ability to come forward as candidates for all the political parties in Northern Ireland at the coming elections?

§ Mr. Hurd
I understand that argument. If the party leaders, of whom the right hon. Gentleman is one, or the Devolution Report Committee of the Assembly, were able to bring forward proposals that I could commend to the Cabinet and the House as commanding widespread acceptance, that would be a step forward.

§ Mr. Stanbrook
Is there not a role for the Assembly in serving as the upper tier of local government in Northern Ireland?

§ Mr. Hurd
That role would be rather different from the one given to the Assembly by the House. The Assembly is doing a good job in the scrutinising role that is its immediate responsibility. However, if the elected representatives of constitutional parties in the Province came forward with a proposal on the lines that my hon. Friend has suggested and could show that the proposal was widely accepted across the communities, it should certainly be considered.