European Union (Information, etc.) Bill [HL]

I too oppose the clause, albeit for somewhat different reasons from those of the noble Lord, Lord Pearson of Rannoch. The first objection is the same as that made in respect of the previous clause. It cannot be enforced. If councillors decide not to do so, they cannot be made to provide information in public libraries and so on. Secondly, I am surprised that the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, objects to twinning with EU states. Twinning has been going on for many decades. It is quite a good thing; it is not quite as wonderful as is sometimes claimed. There are those who maintain that the chief beneficiaries are the councillors who go on junkets to the twin town. None the less, it does a certain amount of good, but it should not be confined merely to EU states. It should be extended to Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, across the Atlantic and to other countries as well. I do not see that the EU should be singled out for subsidy, if you like, in this way. As for the principle of twinning, it is a good thing, but the clause is open to objection on the purely technical grounds that it cannot be enforced.