Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

I believe that the Standards Board has done an enormous amount to raise standards in local government. I welcome that, as I do the reforms proposed in the Bill to strengthen the mechanisms for ensuring that the very highest levels of probity are maintained throughout local government. People must perceive the local councillor’s role as worth while. The Bill addresses that problem to some extent, but for some years now the scrutiny function has been undervalued and under-resourced. Too often, those councillors consigned to the scrutiny role have felt impotent and unable to affect anything that matters. Scrutiny is regarded as an answer to the question, ““What do we do with councillors who aren’t in the cabinet?”” It is not considered to be something that has a value in itself. I welcome the provisions that give more support to help councillors to serve their constituents.