Local Government: Reviews (Hansard, 22 June 1995)

§ Viscount Ullswater

In the statements from my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 2 and 21 March he said that he would be directing a newly-constituted Commission to carry out new structure reviews of a small number of individual districts.

My right honourable friend named 20 districts which he had in mind to refer to the Commission. He said that nine of these would definitely be referred; for the remaining 11 we would hold meetings with the district councils and their county councils before coming to a view. That programme of meetings is now complete. My right honourable friend has considered all of the arguments and decided that all 20 districts should be referred to the Commission for new reviews. They are: Basildon, Blackburn, Blackpool, Broxtowe, Dartford, Exeter, Gedling, Gillingham, Gloucester, Gravesham, Halton, Huntingdonshire, Northampton, Norwich, Peterborough, Rochester upon Medway, Rushcliffe, Thurrock, Warrington, and the Wrekin.

My right honourable friend also said that, while he would consider requests from other districts to be reviewed, it was very unlikely that he should want to add significantly to the number of referrals to the Commission. My right honourable friend has carefully considered all the requests which he has received, and 31WA in the light of those representations he has concluded that the district of Spelthorne in Surrey should be added to the list of reviews. Spelthorne is in many ways similar to the Berkshire districts which are to be given unitary status, and the proximity of Heathrow Airport creates unusual and specific problems for the authority. Against that background my right honourable friend judges that the district's case for unitary status deserves to be considered.

We have concluded that in these cases the arguments are substantial enough to warrant further consideration. It will be for the Commission to recommend whether or not they should have unitary status. It will then be for my right honourable friend to accept, modify or reject the proposals and Parliament ultimately to decide. My right honourable friend has not been convinced by the representations from other districts and has therefore concluded that no others should be referred to the Commission for review.

The Commission will be directed to carry out these reviews with effect from the beginning of July. All of them will be carried out under new guidance to the Commission. We have consulted on a draft and my right honourable friend will publish the final version in the next few days, in time for the Commission to start work promptly.

My right honourable friend has also considered further the case of Rutland, in particular the implications for costs and service delivery, following his Statement of 21 March. Rutland has a very clear sense of local identity and he is now satisfied that a unitary authority in Rutland would best reflect the identities and interests of the local community and secure effective and convenient local government. My right honourable friend has therefore decided to accept the Commission's recommendation for Rutland to be given unitary status. We shall be consulting in due course on a draft order to give effect to that decision.