Local Government (Hansard, 2 November 1994)

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Local Government Commission's proposals for Cleveland would require joint arrangements between authorities and contracting of functions to maintain services;
(2) if he will make it his policy that any new authorities created as a result of local government reorganisation should be capable of directly providing the full range of public and support services within their own resources;
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(3) what assessment he has made of the effect of the non—directly elected joint bodies requiring under the proposed local government reorganisation for Cleveland on local democracy.

§ Mr. Curry
Every local authority, existing or new, should be capable of securing the provision of the full range of services for which it is responsible. Except for the fire service, we do not consider that statutory joint authorities will be necessary for any local government functions in Cleveland following reorganisation. It is for the local authorities themselves to consider the most suitable means of service delivery, including whether voluntary joint arrangements or contracting out are desirable for particular functions. In any event, the elected local authorities will remain democratically accountable.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy that all the proposed orders for new local government structures should be laid before the House(a) at the same time and (b) the conclusion of the entire review process.

§ Mr. Curry
No.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated number of jobs which the Local Government Commission has calculated would be lost if its proposals for the Cleveland area were implemented.

§ Mr. Curry
The Commission's financial estimates of costs and savings associated with reorganisation in Cleveland, which were made publicly available in November 1993, incorporated the assumption that 336 staff would become surplus if the present local government structure were replaced with four unitary authorities. The staffing levels of the authorities are, however, ultimately a matter for them.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy that there should be fresh all-out elections to shadow authorities to supervise the changes in local government structures; and what consideration he has given to the creation of shadow authorities for the Cleveland area.

§ Mr. Curry
Our policy is that wherever possible there will be all-out elections to shadow unitary in the May preceding the April start-up date. In Cleveland all-out elections to the four district councils will take place in May 1995. The councillors who are elected then will plan for the transfer of functions from the county council to the districts and will continue at reorganisation in April 1996 as councillors of the unitary authorities.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will ensure that, in the current local government reorganisation exercise, a package of staff protection and compensation measure will be available which will be at least as comprehensive and beneficial to staff as the arrangements made available during the last two previous reorganisations;
(2) if he will make it his policy to create a mandatory national framework to maintain continuity of employment for those affected by changes in local government as a result of the local government review, together with full protection of pay and conditions of service; and if he will provide sufficient resources in addition to those required for the maintenance of services, to ensure that such protection is available for all of the affected employees

§ Mr. Curry
Protection of rights of employees upon transfer is already afforded by employment law and will 1153W not be affected by reorganisation. The Government will ensure a suitable package of staff protection and compensation measures for employees in local government affected by the current reorganisation. We have consulted on proposals for redundancy compensation and hope to make an announcement on other elements of the package in due course. Since local authorities will benefit from the savings arising from reorganisation, it is right that they should manage the transitional costs without additional resources from central Government.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy not to implement changes in local government structures which are likely to put jobs at risk.

§ Mr. Curry
No. Local government reorganisation is intended, among other things, to achieve greater efficiency and long-term savings in the cost of providing services. There will inevitably be some effect on staffing structures. The changing role of local government is bound to have implication for the skills and numbers in the local authority work force whether there is structural change or not.

§ Mr. Frank Cook
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Local Government Commission's proposals for Cleveland have been demonstrated to have the clear support of an absolute majority of the residents of that area.

§ Mr. Curry
The commission's final report on Cleveland, published in November 1993, included the results of opinion research which showed that a clear majority of local residents want change, and that the structure proposed by the commission is the most popular option for change.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what importance he attaches to public opinion as expressed in responses to the Local Government Commission's consultation period.

§ Mr. Robert B. Jones
The Local Government Act 1992 requires the Local Government Commission to have regard to the need to reflect the identities and interests of local communities, and to secure effective and convenient local government. Public opinion is one important test of this.