LOCAL AUTHORITIES (RESTORATION OF WORKS POWERS) BILL

HL Deb 25 July 1977 vol 386 cc773-5

4.38 p.m.

Report received.

Clause 1 [Restoration of powers conferred by certain orders]:

The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, DEPARTMENT of the ENVIRONMENT (Baroness Birk) moved Amendment No. 1: Page 1, line 6, at end insert ("which are specified in the Schedule to this Act and").

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, with the leave of the House I shall move Amendment No. 1 and speak at the same time to Amendment No. 3. At the Committee stage, as your Lordships will recall, I expressed sympathy and support for the view put by the noble Lord, Lord Sandys, that we should seek to simplify the Bill, and do this by including a Schedule listing the 25 authorities covered by the Bill. This Amendment fulfils that undertaking. At the time, I said that I would consider it only to make absolutely sure that, by doing this, it would not in any way make the Bill hybrid. I am sure that it will be of considerable benefit to those who refer to this measure in the future, because it will save them from having to refer to three orders under the Local Government Act 1972 in order to find out which authorities have been affected. I think that this is an improvement, and I am glad that it has been drawn to my attention. I beg to move.

Lord SANDYS

My Lords, from this side of the House we warmly appreciate the care with which the noble Baroness has set out this Schedule to the Bill, and we believe that it is both an improvement and a simplification. It is of course a matter of regret that there is no provision for the relinquishing of powers by these authorities. Nevertheless, we acknowledge what the noble Baroness has achieved by these two Amendments.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 6 [Separate accounting]:

Baroness YOUNG moved Amendment No. 2: Page 3, line 25, leave out ("and").

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this is a paving Amendment for Amendment No. 4. The House will recall that, at an earlier stage of the Bill, we debated at length putting in the CIPFA recommendations on accounting systems for these 25 local authorities. That having been agreed by the Committee, it was necessary to make a consequential amendment to the Long Title of the Bill. These two Amendments are designed to achieve that. I beg to move.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Baroness BIRK moved Amendment No. 3: After Clause 7, insert the following new schedule:

("SCHEDULE

LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO WHICH SECTION 1 REFERS

• The Borough Council of Barrow-in-Furness.
• The Borough Council of Blackburn.
• The Borough Council of Bolton.
• The City Council of Bristol.
• The Borough Council of Burnley.
• The City Council of Cardiff.
• The City Council of Derby.
• The Borough Council of Gateshead.
• The Borough Council of Grimsby.
• The City Council of Kingston upon Hull.
• The City Council of Lincoln.
• The City Council of Liverpool.
• The City Council of Manchester.
• The City Council of Newcastle upon Tyne.
• The Borough Council of North Tyneside.
• The City Council of Plymouth.
• The Borough Council of Rotherham.
• The Borough Council of Scunthorpe.
• The City Council of Sheffield.
• The Borough Council of South Tyneside.
• The City Council of Stoke-on-Trent.
• The Borough Council of Stockport.
• The Borough Council of Sunderland.
• The City Council of Swansea.
• The Borough Council of Wigan.")

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Baroness YOUNG moved Amendment No. 4: In the Title, line 1, leave out from ("to") to end of line 4 and insert ("restore certain powers conferred on certain district councils by certain orders made by virtue of section 254 of the Local Government Act 1972; to impose certain financial duties; and for connected purposes.")

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Then, Standing Order No. 43 having been suspended (pursuant to Resolution of 13th July), Bill read 3^a, with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.