HC Deb 11 December 2001 vol 376 cc793-6W
Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the members of the Local Government Commission from its inception to the present date. [21508]

Dr. Whitehead

The current members are:

  • Professor Malcolm Grant (Chairman)
  • Professor Michael Clarke CBE (Deputy Chairman)
  • Peter Brokenshire
  • Km Desai Pamela Gordon
  • Robin Gray
  • Robert Hughes CBE.
  • The past members are:
  • David Ansbro
  • Sir John Banham (Chairman)
  • Professor Michael Chisholm
  • Christopher Chope, MP OBE
  • Sir David Cooksey (Chairman)
  • Sir Kenneth Couzens KCB
  • Ken Ennals CB
  • Brian Hill CBE DL
  • Margaret Hodge, MP MBE
  • Howell Harris Hughes
  • Mary Leigh Ann Lev ick Bob Scruton
  • Dame Helena Shovelton
  • David Thomas OBE
  • Lord Norman Warner
  • Lady Judith Wilcox
  • Clive Wilkinson.

Note:

Margaret Hodge and Christopher Chope were not MPs when serving on the Commission.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will list the factors taken into consideration by the Local Government Commission when conducting a structural review of an existing unitary authority; [21510]

Dr. Whitehead

Torbay unitary authority has reported the following government funding:

(2) what procedures are followed when he directs the Local Government Commission to undertake a structural review into an existing unitary authority. [21511]

Dr. Whitehead

The factors and procedures to be considered in a structure review are those specified in Part II of the Local Government Act 1992. Under that Act, a structural review is a review as to whether unitary local government should be created, and hence such a review of an existing unitary authority is not possible.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what basis he will ask the Local Government Commission to undertake a structural review of an existing local authority. [21630]

Dr. Whitehead

We have no plans to ask the Local Government Commission to undertake a structural review of an existing local authority. The functions of the LGC are to be transferred to the Electoral Commission on 1 April 2002.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the research supporting the decision to amalgamate the Local Government Commission into the Electoral Commission; and what the effect of this change will be in terms of(a) change-over cost, (b) administration costs, (c) employment and (d) responsibilities for structural and electoral reform. [21515]

Dr. Whitehead

The White Paper "The Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom. The Government's proposals for legislation in response to the Fifth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life" (Cm4413) proposed the amalgamation, building on the Financial Management and Policy Review of the Local Government Commission which was placed in the Library of the House on 1 July 1998,Official Report, column 192W.

All the staff, with the exception of the Chief Executive, are to be transferred to the Electoral Commission under their existing terms and conditions. The principal transitional cost is that of securing accommodation for all staff on a single site—to achieve long term operational efficiency—for which provision of up to £700,000 has been made available.

The responsibility for implementing structural reform (on the advice of the Electoral Commission) remains with the Secretary of State. The responsibility for implementing electoral arrangements—the number and boundaries of electoral areas and the number of councillors—will become the responsibility of the Electoral Commission with effect from 1 April 2002. Other electoral reform issues remain with the Secretary of State but the Electoral Commission has a remit to keep under review electoral law and practice and to promote public awareness of the electoral process.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list(a) biographical details, (b) professional qualifications, (c) political affiliations and (d) salary, pensions and benefits of the members of the Local Government Commission. [21514]

Dr. Whitehead

The Chairman is Professor Malcolm Grant LLD, Professor of Land Economy at Cambridge University and a Professorial Fellow of Clare College. He is the Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Planning Law and Practice, the Joint Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Environmental Law, and the author of several books on planning law, environmental protection and local government finance law. He is chairman of the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission and the Independent Member of the Greater London Authority's Standards Committee. Salary £20,775.

The Deputy Chairman is Professor Michael Clarke CBE, Pro Vice Chancellor of Birmingham University, and Professor and Head of the School of Public Policy. He served as Chief Executive of the Local Government Management Board and prior to that Director of the Local Government Training Board and has published a number of books and articles on local government. Salary £5,805.

Peter Brokenshire is currently Chairman of Redbridge and Waltham Forest Family Health Services Authority. He has also served as a Director and latterly Acting Controller of the Audit Commission. His main career has been in local government, where his experience has included being Chief Executive of the London Borough of Greenwich and of Epping Forest District Council. Salary £5,805.

Robin Gray is a former civil servant who has spent most of his career in the Department for the Environment. He was seconded to West Sussex County Council in the 1980s and also served as Secretary to the London and Metropolitan Government Staff Commission. He is a member of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England. He has been a freelance management consultant since 1992. Salary £5,805.

Pamela Gordon has spent 40 years in local government service. She was an Assistant Director-General with the Greater London Council before becoming Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hackney and then, for nearly eight years, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council. She was President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives in 1996–97. She is Governor of Sheffield Hallam University. She was Special Adviser to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Local Government (Organisations and Standards) Bill 1999. She has recently been appointed as an Electoral Commissioner. Salary £5,805.

Robert Hughes CBE, FCIS was, until his retirement, Chief Executive of Kirklees Metropolitan Council. Before that he was Chief Executive of Great Grimsby Borough Council. He was President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers during 1997–98. He was formerly an adviser to both the Local Government Association and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities. He is Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board. Salary £5,805.

Kru Desai is a Principal Consultant at KPMG. Before moving to KPMG in November 1993 she worked for Westminster City Council in a number of policy development and implementation roles, in particular the development and co-ordination of Westminster's outsourcing programme. She is also a governor of Malory School in Lewisham. Salary £5,805.

None of the Commissioners has any political affiliations, given the nature of their role.

Pensions will be based on final pensionable salary and the length of pensionable service. Full details are included in the Annual Report and Accounts of the Local Government Commission which has been laid before Parliament and is available in the Library.