§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many additional staff will be required on new employment by local authorities in order to implement the provisions contained in part III of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980;
(2) what additional costs will fall on the ratepayers of Grampian regional, Banff and Buchan district and Gordon district councils when part III of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 comes into effect in April 1982; and if he will list these costs in the Official Report.
§ Mr. RifkindIt is not possible to quantify the effect on local authority manpower and costs of part III of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, because the circumstances of individual authorities will differ48W greatly. The Government believe that offsetting financial savings should in any case materialise from the increased cost effectiveness which authorities should achieve when their DLOs are operating under the strict management accounting system which the legislation prescribes. Cost savings should also result from the requirements to seek competitive tenders from the private sector.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will seek to amend section 21(3) of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 to provide powers for him to raise the figure for exemption from the provisions of part III of the Act;
(2) if he will consider seeking to amend the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, to exempt local authorities from the provisions of part III of the Act where a maximum of 100 persons are employed by the local authority direct building department in the exercising of the local authority's statutory function.
§ Mr. RifkindMy right hon. Friend will keep the operation of the Act under review, once it has been formally implemented in Scotland with effect from April 1982, to see whether any changes are necessary in the light of experience and the Act's objective of improving the efficiency of local authority direct works organisations by exposing them to more rigorous accounting and competition requirements. It would be premature to make changes before we have any experience of the workings of the Act.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from Scottish local authorities in relation to part III of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindSince the Act was passed a few local authorities—including Banff and Buchan district council—have represented that more generous exemption arrangements should be introduced to allow a larger number of small direct works organisations to be exempted.