Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

Amendments Nos. 216A and 217C would remove the exemptions for the scrutiny of police authorities from the provisions relating to the scrutiny of LAA partners. More specifically, Amendment No. 216A would allow the Secretary of State to make regulations about the information that the overview and scrutiny committee could require from police authorities. Amendment No. 217C would allow the overview and scrutiny committee to send reports to police authorities to which they could be required to have regard. The noble Baroness asked why the Bill is as it is. The exemption in the Bill regarding the overview and scrutiny of police authorities is not an accident or oversight; nor is it because we think that crime and disorder matters should be subject to strengthened scrutiny. Quite the opposite is the case. The amendment will simply duplicate what is elsewhere. The Committee will recall that only last year the Police and Justice Act 2006 received Royal Assent. Sections 19 and 20 of that Act provide specifically for local authorities’ scrutiny of crime and disorder matters. These provisions are far stronger than the general local government scrutiny arrangements set out in Section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000. Section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 provides that every local authority shall have a crime and disorder committee, which can make reports and recommendations. When it does so, it must provide every chief officer of police, police authority, fire and rescue authority, PCT and local probation board in the area, and any other person named in an order by the Secretary of State, with a copy. Where such an authority or person then receives a copy of the report, they must consider it and respond, stating what action they are to take, and have regard to the report’s recommendations in exercising their functions. In essence this Bill strengthens councils’ overview and scrutiny by allowing them to hold to account those public service providers they are not already able to hold to account through the specific provision of crime and disorder bodies—by virtue of the Police and Justice Act 2006—and health partners, which are provided for by the National Health Service Act 2006. Given that we have only recently legislated to provide for scrutiny arrangements on crime and disorder, there is no need to bring these back before the House and duplicate them in this Bill. As I said earlier, we intend to work as closely as possible with the Home Office in order to make sure that these provisions are lined up together.