§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has agreed that the new top-tier authorities shall issue plans as to how the second tiers should be formed, as has been done by the county of Devon.
§ Mr. Graham PageNo. The new county councils will not come into existence until they have been elected in the spring of 1973, but as is indicated in the White Paper the proposed pattern of new districts will be debated in Parliament376W before they become effective towards the end of 1972. In the meantime, my right hon. Friend has stressed the importance of all existing local authorities making known their views on the new district boundaries.