Local Government (Hansard, 6 November 1991)

§ 8. Mr. Watts
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of those responding to the local government structure review favoured an increased number of unitary authorities.

§ Mr. Portillo
Of those who commented directly on the principle of moving to a single tier of local council, the vast majority expressed support for it.

§ Mr. Watts
What representations has my hon. Friend received from Slough? Is he aware of the strong cross-party support in Slough for the abolition of Berkshire county council and its replacement by unitary authorities based on existing boroughs and districts?

§ Mr. Portillo
We received a representation from Slough. As my hon. Friend says, it made the case for unitary authorities in general and for that solution to be applied in Slough. My hon. Friend will be pleased that we propose to set up a local government commission so that such views can be considered seriously in due course.

§ Mr. Hardy
Ministers and hon. Members on both sides of the House have expressed support for unitary authorities and the term is now used frequently. Does the Minister realise that it causes a great deal of anxiety among members of parish, town and similar authorities? What is the Government's attitude to parish councils and so on, which have had to put up with a fair amount of inadequate concern from Her Majesty's Government in recent years?

§ Mr. Portillo
My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State recently addressed a conference of town councils. The Government have not neglected them by any means and we think that parishes have an important role. The concept of unitary authorities is in no sense meant to detract from the good work that the parishes do.

§ Mr. Cran
My hon. Friend will understand the enthusiasm of my constituents for a return to a single-tier, all-purpose local authority based on the borough of Beverley. To do so, we have to get rid of Humberside county council. Will my hon. Friend clarify the statement that he made yesterday and tell the House whether Humberside will be the first local authority to be considered by the new local government commission, or whether it will be among the first? If it is the latter, what does that mean?

§ Mr. Portillo
It means precisely that Humberside will be in the first batch of authorities that we will recommend for consideration by the local government commission. To clarify that a little more, it means that the local government commission will have a regional structure. It will be able to consider more than one place at a time and I believe that Humberside should be one of the areas in the first batch. It will be one of the first places to be considered. I hope that that makes the position clear to my hon. Friend.

§ Mr. Gould
Why have the Minister and the Secretary of State in their Local Government Bill passed up the chance of proceeding on the basis of consensus? The Opposition would support a local government commission and we support the idea of flexibility to meet local needs. Why, therefore, are the Government insisting on a process that is apparently piecemeal, long-drawn-out and manifestly open to political gerrymandering? Are they serious about putting local government through the further chaos of creeping restructuring, which can only add to the confusion already felt by so many in local government about who does what? Have not they already done enough damage to local government without this further turn of the screw?

§ Mr. Portillo
As usual, the confusion is in the hon. Gentleman's mind. Our consultation document, which the hon. Gentleman welcomed when it was issued, was perfectly clear and the Bill that we have published is in line with it. I am unaware of any response from the hon. Gentleman, because he does not wish to consult the 439 Government. His remarks are wholly inconsistent not only with what he said before but with what his colleagues in another place are saying.

§ Mr. Latham
Is my hon. Friend aware that, after their constructive meeting with my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), my constituents are optimistic that they will have Rutland back as a unitary authority under the re-elected Conservative Government?

§ Mr. Portillo
After meetings with my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary most people are pleased, because of his renowned courtesy. It was important that we set out that the guiding principle of the local government commission should be to establish the proper services to be provided to local people, in line with their sense of local community—the sort of community with which they wish to identify. That is a welcome concept and I believe that, despite what the hon. Member for Dagenham (Mr. Gould) said, it will be greeted warmly throughout the House.