§ Mr. Elystan Morganasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate how far his final decision upon the establishment of an elected Council for Wales will be guided by the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England and how far by public opinion in Wales.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesI shall take all relevant considerations into account.
§ Mr. Elystan Morganasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total population represented by those local authorities which have declared themselves in favour of an elected Council for Wales; and what is the total population represented by those local authorities which have declared themselves to be against the body.
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§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesIt is not possible to give a meaningful answer because comments have been submitted by two tiers of local authorities. But taking only the county councils and county borough councils, that is, the authorities most likely to be affected by the creation of an elected Welsh Council with executive responsibilities, the total population represented by authorities who are in favour of a nominated Council is appreciably greater than the total population represented by authorities who are in favour of an elected Council.
§ Mr. Elystan Morganasked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ascertain the state of public opinion in Wales, other than amongst local authorities, with regard to the establishment of an elected Council for Wales.
§ Mr. Cledwyn HughesI do not consider that any further steps need to be taken. The proposals in the White Paper "Local Government in Wales" (Cmnd. 3340) were set out for public discussion and it is open to anyone to make their views known to me; a large and representative number have already done so.