§ Mr. TrendTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment if he intends to appeal against the ruling of the High Court on 6 October 1995 that his decision to abolish Berkshire county council and transfer its functions to the six existing district councils was invalid in so far as it concerns the transfer of functions to the borough of Bracknell Forest and the royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. [40487]
§ Mr. GummerThe court ruling was not a judgment on the merits of my decision on the structure of local government in Berkshire, but turned on a point of interpretation of the Local Government Act 1992 which I feel needs to be tested further. Leave to appeal was granted by the High Court, and I shall be serving notice of appeal to enable the matter to be argued further in the Court of Appeal. I shall not lay the Berkshire (Structural Change) Order before Parliament while the appeal is proceeding.