Local Government

HC Deb 16 January 2001 vol 361 cc184-6

3. Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West)

If he will make a statement on the future of two-tier local government and the Government's plans for regional government in England. [143966]

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. John Prescott)

We remain committed to moving to directly elected regional government, where there is support as demonstrated in referendums. In the meantime, there are no plans at present to reform the structure of local government in England. Unlike the previous Government, we believe in the decentralisation of power at local, regional and national levels.

Mr. Swayne

Has the Secretary of State seen the Library research into the political affiliations of the members of regional development agency boards? It transpires that nearly three quarters of them are Labour cronies, so does he understand the preference of many of our constituents for sticking with their county councils and doing away with the regional development agencies altogether?

Mr. Prescott

The hon. Gentleman must be including an awful lot of business people in his Labour cronies. That makes a remarkable change in the political situation in the regions.

The Tory party is committed to abolishing the regional chambers, the assemblies and the development agencies, so I shall deal with the direct political representation that it has. More than 105 Tory councillors are on regional chambers and 33 are on the south-east regional assembly, including Councillor Simon Hayes of the New Forest district council in the hon. Gentleman's constituency.

Mr. Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne, Central)

May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his answer to the opening question, which made it clear that the movement towards regional government in those regions that make a case for it and can convince the people that it is right will not be blocked or delayed by the irrelevance of dealing with unnecessary local government reform?

Mr. Prescott

Yes, that is the point that we have made. In the referendum on the London strategic authority, 75 per cent. voted yes. On that occasion, the Tories asked people to vote no, but I presume that they have now accepted the result. They always oppose the establishment of development agencies and constitutional change, but they eventually come round to accepting them.

Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend, East)

Does the Secretary of State agree that regional government costs the taxpayer a fortune without our being able to see any great advantage from it? Does he realise how angry that makes people in Rochford, where the grant this year is £400,000 less than it was six years ago? The people there think that the money would be far better spent on giving help to existing councils.

Mr. Prescott

Of course, as the hon. Gentleman knows, there is no form of regional government at the moment, but there are regional organisations. The first regional body set up by the previous Administration was that of the regional government offices, which presumably cost a few bob to run as well. There is not a great deal of money being spent on reorganisation.

We believe that it is relevant to have a strategy for the regions, which is why we encouraged the development agencies, which were also supported by the previous Administration. The hon. Gentleman was a Member of Parliament in 1979 when his party fought on an election manifesto pledge to get rid of the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies. However, as soon as they returned to power, they eagerly engaged in using them.

Mr. Ben Bradshaw (Exeter)

Does my right hon. Friend agree that many fine cities in England would be perfectly capable of running their own affairs, although at the moment they have to suffer being lumped in with county councils, in which rural interests dominate? Does it not make sense for matters that are best dealt with on a regional level to be dealt with in that way, for those best dealt with locally to be dealt with at district or city level, and to deliver, at long last, the unitary status that cities such as Exeter deserve?

Mr. Prescott

It is true that many of the unitary authorities that were established under the previous Administration do a good job, and we see local government being built on that unitary system. It is also true that strategic decisions that need to be made in the English regions are perhaps not being made as well as they are in the London area, where strategic decisions are made by a strategic body. We have said that, ultimately, the people will decide, in a referendum. The people will be given the choice, and if they want the provision we shall observe their wishes.

Mr. Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells)

After three and a half years in government, has the Deputy Prime Minister forgotten completely that it was a solemn Labour manifesto pledge to introduce directly elected regional government? Is not the truth that, although he is still enthusiastic, he has not succeeded in convincing any of his colleagues? The Prime Minister has cold feet and the local government Minister has said that the issue is all a great diversion.

Four or five weeks ago, the Deputy Prime Minister said in the House that he was still consulting on the matter. Is he consulting anyone but himself? If he is not going to reaffirm the commitment to introduce regional government—or provide a time scale for its introduction—why should we believe anything that he has to say about local government democracy?

Mr. Prescott

We made it clear in our manifesto that we believed in decentralisation, after 18 years of centralisation and the break-up of local government under the previous Administration. In our three years, we have introduced radical change, in the form of devolution in Scotland and Wales; introduced the necessary legislation to conduct the referendum in London, and established regional bodies such as the RDAs; and reformed the civil service structure to enable us to make joined-up government decisions in the regions. Those are good steps towards our commitment to decentralisation.

In the manifesto, we said that we would give the choice to people in the regions, and that where there was a demand, we would hold a referendum. [Interruption.] We have not yet received that demand. Consultation is going on in all the regions. Opposition Members can ask their local Tory councillors who are involved in them. They will find that many of those councillors are joining us in the demand for regional government.

Mr. Norman

The truth is that we have no directly elected regional government. All that we have are extremely expensive regional bureaucracies delivering nothing to anybody. After three and a half years, the Government cannot make up their own mind on what was a manifesto pledge. Is not the truth that the Conservative party is now the party of local government, and that Labour is presiding over what the head of the Local Government Association—who is a Labour supporter—described as the strange death of local democracy?

Will the Deputy Prime Minister now affirm the Government's commitment to the future of county councils? If not, does that mean that, if Labour were to be re-elected, county councils that date back to the Domesday Book would cease to exist, and that 3 May could be the date of the last county council elections in the history of England?

Mr. Prescott

The obvious assumption behind the hon. Gentleman's question is that the Conservatives will lose the general election. I agree with him on that. He mentioned regional bureaucracies. The previous Administration set up regional government offices that were accountable to no one but central Government. They were not accountable to people in the regions.

Mr. Norman

What about the RDAs?

Mr. Prescott

It is true that the RDAs are appointed centrally, but they contain locally elected representatives, such as the 105 Tory councillors who sit on the bodies to which they make their reports. The hon. Gentleman suggests that the Conservative party is the friend of local authorities, but in that context I shall mention only the Banham review—a report into the organisation of local authorities that was a total mess and had to be withdrawn—and the poll tax, which cost the country £14 billion. By any fair test, to suggest that the previous Administration were the friend of local authorities is not acceptable.