HL Deb 18 December 2003 vol 655 cc1327-30

1.59 p.m.

Lord Bassam of Brighton

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 17th November be approved [First Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Lord said: My Lords, I should like to explain the background to the order. Currently, the Best Value regime applies to all parish councils other than those whose budgeted income was less than £500,000 in any of the financial years commencing in 1997, 1998 and 1999. That means that all parishes, including small ones, created after 1999 are subject to the duties of Best Value. The order will change that position by exempting all but 41 of the larger and well established parishes from the Best Value regime.

The order will exempt all parish and town councils, except those whose budgeted income was above £500,000 in each of the years commencing 1997, 1998 and 1999, from the duties of Best Value as defined by the Local Government Act 1999.

The duty of Best Value, as defined in that Act, requires authorities to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way they deliver their services, having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness. In doing so, they must consult local people, publish Best Value performance plans, carry out reviews of their services and be subject to audit and inspection. In cases of failure, they may also be subject to the Secretary of State's powers of intervention.

Under the Local Government Act 1999 that duty would apply to all local authorities, including all 8,700 or so parish councils. The size of those parish councils varies considerably. Some are large, with budgets of over half a million pounds. Others are very small—no more than a part-time clerk supporting a few councillors. The requirements of Best Value would have been quite onerous for the smaller town and parish councils. They would find it unnecessarily burdensome to be required to prepare and publish Best Value performance plans and to review their functions. No doubt, some may feel threatened by the prospect of Best Value inspections and in a worse case scenario, they could be subject to intervention. The Government recognised that it was not right to burden those small town and parish councils with the duty of Best Value, nor would it have been cost effective.

Therefore, the Government issued the Local Government Best Value (Exemption) (England) Order 2000 to exempt those councils whose budgeted income was less than £500,000 in any of the financial years to which I have referred. That resulted in only the largest 41 town and parish councils becoming subject to the duty of Best Value. They are key local players with sizeable incomes. Typically, they run community centres and markets; they operate "one-stop" shops, providing local information; and work in partnership with others in a variety of ways to meet the needs of their community. It is right that they should follow Best Value principles. For those bodies we have streamlined the Best Value framework as far as possible to reduce the burden on them.

However, the Local Government Best Value (Exemption) (England) Order 2000 did not exempt parish councils which were created after the order was made. To date, around 100 such parish councils have been created, most are very small. It was not the Government's intention that such councils should be subject to the duty of Best Value. The draft order therefore proposes to revoke the current order and replace it with one which secures the exemption of all parish councils from the duty of Best Value, except those with budgeted income over £500,000 in the financial years to which I have referred. It will also exempt any parish and town council that may be created in the future.

I can reassure noble Lords that the proposed order will not change the position of the current Best Value town and parish councils. We wish them to continue to build on the excellent progress that they have made to date in implementing the principles of Best Value. I particularly acknowledge their contribution in enhancing the quality of life for the communities they serve.

The order does not change the position of the majority of parish councils. The smaller ones that were in existence before 1999 are exempt from the duties of Best Value and will remain so. The order will clarify the position of those town and parish councils created since April 2000 and any that may be created in the future. The Third Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation in the other place considered the order on 8th December and has confirmed that it is content. I commend the order to this House.

Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 17th November be approved [First Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Bassam of Brighton.)

Lord Hanningfield

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his explanation of the order. These Benches support the move. I thought that there were nearly 10,000 parish councils, but the Minister said that there were 8,700. Whichever figure is right, there are a large number of parish councils across the country, representing more than 16 million people. They are the oldest structure of government in our country and are vital to the health of our local democracy.

Four of the seven quality parishes—a new classification—are in my county of Essex. I am delighted that my county has such a strong record of parish government, and the county council which I lead is committed to serving our parish councils.

As the Minister said, the effect of the order will be to remove certain Best Value obligations from parish councils which fall within the Best Value regime. There are 41 such councils and I am sure that they will welcome this loosening of the grip of Whitehall on their functions. Indeed, many authorities—not only parish councils—would welcome such derogation.

I was pleased to hear what the Minister said because I was intending to ask about parish councils which will be created in the future. I believe that he has clarified the future situation and I am grateful for that. Obviously, I hope that in the coming years many more parish councils will be created. I would encourage that, as, I am sure, we all would. Therefore, I am grateful for the Minister's clarification and do not believe that I need to ask any questions. I welcome the order and wish the Minister a merry Christmas.

Lord Shutt of Greetland

My Lords, I am all in favour of a merry Christmas. I support the order. It is interesting that in the other place, when referring to Best Value, the Minister said that the requirements are quite demanding. That was certainly my experience during my period of service as a municipal councillor, which ended in May. If ever a pudding was over-egged, it was the one called "Best Value". Of course, one cannot talk against best value or good value. However, in my view, what became known as the Best Value regime took over local government. It would be interesting to know whether, on balance, local government has been the better for it. Having said that, the order exempts from the regime brand new parishes with minimal powers and minimal resources. Clearly, that is right and I support the order.

The Earl of Erroll

My Lords, first, I declare an interest as chairman of Evalue Group, which has been helping local authorities to achieve e-procurement targets. That is supposed to happen by 2005 but many will not hit the targets. I should probably mention that, although he does not know it, we have been helping some of the districts in the county of the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield.

I very much support this statutory instrument as it reduces much of the burden of regulation. However, it is a pity that it is limited only to parish councils with a turnover of less than £500,000. In trying to help districts, in particular, to achieve greater efficiency, we found that those concerned tended to think, "Oh God, not another initiative". They not only have to deal with best value; they now also have comprehensive performance assessments and many other things, too.

The main point that I want to make is that Section 4 of the Local Government Act 1999 states that best value authorities shall have regard to, a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness". However, that is looking at the issue only from the authority's point of view. If one takes into account efficiency and effectiveness only from the authority's point of view, many SMEs in the area could be bankrupted because one is trying to consolidate procurement.

I believe that the Act is flawed in that it does not also have regard to the impact on the local area. In some such initiatives, one can easily find that, in trying to be very efficient, at the same time, one bankrupts one's local economy and then money is pumped into a regeneration project. Therefore, I very much welcome the order. I believe that it is a move in the right direction. I only wish that it had been extended a little further by making more exemptions.

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, I do not find too many points to reply to. I believe that, for the first time, the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, missed the opportunity of asking a question on a local government matter when at the Dispatch Box. Therefore, I suppose that I should return his good cheer for the season and congratulate him on that.

In response to the noble Lord, Lord Shutt, I can only say that I believe that best value has done a great deal for district and county authorities, metropolitan authorities and London boroughs and so on. I also believe that the 41 parish town councils and one city council that fall into that category have benefited from it as well. If the House wanted me to, I could regale it with endless stories of improved efficiency and enhanced service performance achieved as a result. Such improvement has had quite a bearing, particularly on councils that have concentrated on marketing—to pick up the point about regeneration— on improving the quality of community facilities and on enhancing regeneration programmes locally, particularly where they have been undertaken in partnership.

I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, on spotting his four parish councils, on one of whose playing fields I attempted in my youth to play football and failed rather badly. I am most grateful for the words of support and warmth. I wish everyone good cheer.

On Question, Motion agreed to.