Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

Amendments Nos. 206, 207 and 209 are tabled in this group. Amendments Nos. 206 and 207 originated from the Local Government Association, which has some concerns that the list of partner authorities which can be included in a local area agreement is drawn as widely as possible. I suspect that the Minister will say, ““Well you have to stop the list somewhere. You simply cannot keep adding to it””. In general, I would have some sympathy with that reply. However, one of the difficulties is that, when government create a statutory framework and name a lot of people, there is always the danger that if people are not included on the list, their exclusion is either seen as downgrading them or as making it not possible for them to co-operate in the future. My amendments are probing, providing an opportunity for the Minister to explain how the current list of partners has been drawn up and what a local authority can do if it has a particular target for which it requires the help of someone who is not on the list. From that perspective I can help the noble Lord who asked about higher education. It is not so much the role of higher education as an educational establishment per se. In Ipswich, which I know very well, we are creating a new university the role of which as a driver for economic regeneration on the waterfront is huge, as will be the impact on the demography of the town and so on. From that point of view, co-operation with the university in its broadest sense will be key. Amendment No. 206 is slightly less probing and more about trying to understand why the probation trusts have not been included. The noble Baroness can help us on that. I added Amendment No. 209, which mentions post offices, as an opportunity to say that I find it quite difficult to understand why the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission merits a place in the Bill and the local post office does not. Whether people are in urban or rural areas, post offices are always important. All the amendments provide a chance for the Minister to explain how the organisations in the Bill have been chosen.