Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

That means that the amendment would give it to both the district and the county council. That seems prima facie to be a recipe for conflict at the very least and mayhem at the very most. The Committee will know that I have listened very carefully in debates on the Bill, and from my experience in local government I understand that, given the opportunity for mischief, it will occur, because there will always be a conflict. I should have thought that the sensible way out of this is for one or the other to have it, but not both. In fact what has been proposed, in the pursuit of equity or justice, is to allow both to impose their will over the other. Ultimately, I do not think that is a very good recipe. I take the slight chastisement from the noble Lord that we have a new situation in which the power is being taken away from the centre and is being given to a unit of local government, which is the district. The noble Lord is perfectly entitled to say that the appropriate unit and level is the county council and not the district. I should have thought that if we are really in pursuit of devolving power down as far as possible, the district council is perfectly able and big enough. I understand the resource element and the administrative back-up that is required, but it is worth a try, so I favour the district and not including the county council.