Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

moved Amendment No. 32: 32: Clause 8, page 6, line 6, leave out subsection (2) and insert— ““(2) Where they have conducted a review under this section the Boundary Committee may (subject to subsection (4)) recommend to the Secretary of State such boundary change as in consequence of the review seems to them desirable.”” The noble Baroness said: This large group contains technical amendments on the processes for reviewing boundaries, structure or electoral arrangements as provided for in Part 1 of the Bill and the Local Government Act 1992. I will go through them as clearly as I can. The amendments to Clauses 8 and 10 simply ensure that when conducting a boundary review the Boundary Committee will be able to recommend that there be no change. As the Bill is drafted that would not be possible. If the committee thought that the existing boundary should be retained, it would simply not make any recommendation to the Secretary of State. The review procedure would have to come to a halt but without any public recognition that work had stopped or been completed. That is obviously not sensible. It is clearly desirable that the Boundary Committee, having decided that the boundaries should not be changed, formally completes the review process by making this recommendation to the Secretary of State. Those who have been involved in the review will then know that the Boundary Committee has reached that conclusion. The amendments to Clause 12 ensure that the Secretary of State is able to make provision in relation to parish electoral arrangements when she makes an order for structural or boundary change. The Bill already enables the Secretary of State to make changes to parish boundaries; in certain circumstances this will require a change to parish electoral arrangements. The amendment ensures that this is possible. The technical amendments to Clause 56 correct an error in the drafting of an amendment agreed to in another place. In an electoral review, the number of members is determined in relation to the ward they will represent, and the amendments reflect this. The amendments to Clause 57 update Section 15 of the Local Government Act 1992, which sets out the procedure to be followed for an electoral review of wards or electoral divisions in a council’s area. In short, the amendments modernise the electoral review processes. We have met the Electoral Commission’s request that the process be made more flexible; for example, by allowing the Boundary Committee to conduct a shorter review to deal with more straightforward matters such as minor electoral boundary changes. Further technical amendments make necessary changes to Schedules 1 and 18 to ensure that the review processes are fit for purpose. I beg to move.