Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

My noble friend Lord Hanningfield and I have attached our names to Amendments Nos. 206 and 207, but we broadly support this whole group, which would make a much more comprehensive list of partner authorities than is there already. This section already contains welcome legislative recognition of local area agreements, which we have been discussing. These will become the primary mechanism for channelling public funds into areas prioritised by local people. So the synergistic rewards of closer co-operation are also welcome. It is therefore important that the list of partner organisations is sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that local authorities have the flexibility to work with all possible partners in their area. More specifically, I believe that there are dangers in omitting probation trusts, which the Government are introducing under the Offender Management Bill, from the list of partners. If we truly wish to engage everyone of relevance in improving the social, economic and environmental well-being of an area, we must ensure that strategic partners are not omitted. The probation trust is an excellent example of a partner likely to be accountable for many of the priorities selected by communities. Extending the list to ensure that a wider variety of partners have a duty to co-operate will significantly enhance the ability of the public sector to deliver local area agreement outcomes that make a significant difference to the communities they serve and will provide a broad rationale for them. I shall be interested to hear the Minister’s response, particularly about probation trusts.