Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

I rise technically to oppose Clause 123 standing part of the Bill and to speak to the amendments grouped with the clause stand part debates. These are all probing amendments. Their purpose is to ask one or two interesting questions relating to overview and scrutiny. Amendments Nos. 217A and 217B and Clause 126 stand part probe the relationship between the district council’s scrutiny committee and the county council’s scrutiny committee in a two-tier system. The Minister will tell me that the amendments are not well drafted; I agree that they are not up to my normal brilliant standard. In particular, they probe the role of a district council’s scrutiny committee. The Minister is nodding, so the amendments at least establish their aim, which is to get some debate on that matter. Can a district council overview and scrutiny committee make a report to the county council? I think that, under Clause 126, it can, but under what circumstances? Does it have to be by agreement, or can it take up an issue, even if the county is not too keen on the matter? Clause 125 allows the setting up of joint overview and scrutiny committees between different partners. Amendment No. 218A probes whether such an arrangement has to be by agreement of all the partners, unanimously, or whether, for example, a county council could agree to set up a joint overview and scrutiny committee even if the district council or one of the other partners was against the idea. How would that work? Amendment No. 222A probes the matters that a joint scrutiny committee between a district and a county can scrutinise. I am talking about a district scrutiny committee scrutinising a county council function. Why might just the local improvement target be involved? Why could it not be widened to a designated improvement target? It is likely that, in the basket of improvement targets existing in the local area agreement, some will be designated and some will not, and they may be closely linked to each other. Why, by agreement, can the committee not do a scrutiny investigation into anything else? If the county and district councils are agreed, why could not either of those scrutiny committees do a scrutiny review of any subject in which either or both of them were involved by agreement between the two? On whether Clause 123 should stand part of the Bill, I wish to ask a question about the regulations, which cover, as I understand it, the whole of the overview and scrutiny function. They will be extremely important; the powers to require information from partner authorities are vital. There could be real difficulties if they are too bureaucratic or prescriptive, although there is the necessity to get the right information. Perhaps the Minister would comment on these regulations and the approach that the Government will take to them. They are some of the most important regulations in the Bill. Clause 127, on guidance, refers to the whole of the overview and scrutiny function. Again, it would be helpful if we could see the draft guidance before Report stage after the Recess. When might the Government have at least some draft guidance on these matters? Will it be in the autumn like the other guidance that we have talked about? If so, how does the Minister define autumn?