HL Deb 05 February 1986 vol 470 cc1265-6WA
Baroness Gardner of Parkes

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to lay the general order transferring property owned by the Greater London Council and the Metropolitan County Councils.

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Elton)

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has laid the general property transfer order before Parliament today.

I announced in my reply to my noble friend on 5th December that we intended to make a general order applicable in all seven areas concerned and based on the principles set out in my department's second and third property memoranda. The views of the local authority associations and successor authorities were subsequently sought on a draft of such an order. The order laid by my right honourable friend today reflects the comments we received on that draft while adhering to the general principles that I had outlined. Property needed for the continuing provision of inherited services will pass immediately at abolition to the appropriate successor authority. Other property, including that for which the appropriate successor has not been identified, will pass initially to the residuary bodies.

The general order does not make a provision for some property of the GLC and MCCs. Such property will be dealt with by means of supplementary orders. In sending copies of the order to successor authorities and local authority associations we have also sent details of all the supplementary orders we intend to make, together with an explanatory note of the order. I have placed copies of these in the Library.

As I made clear in my reply of 5th December the making of the general order does not rule out the bringing forward of further orders to meet more closely the wishes of successor authorities in some areas that virtually all property should pass directly to them at abolition. Proposals for such orders will now have to be put forward very quickly, however, if they are to be made before abolition. I repeat the assurance I gave on 5th December that if orders cannot be made before abolition, my right honourable friend will give early consideration to proposals by the appropriate residuary body under Section 67 of the Act so that orders can, where appropriate, be made under that section for the early transfer of property to functional successor authorities.