Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall speak also to the related Amendments 72 to 75. Before I get to the meat of the issue, perhaps I may make a rather more general remark or two. I find myself frequently in meetings where we talk about devolution, decentralisation and the shift of power from the centre to local authorities and to community organisations. It is great to be part of those discussions and to feel that that mood is a cross-party consensus view shared by Members of this House. At the same time, though, one is always anxious that local authorities just do not command the kind of local support and respect that that decentralisation, that move to devolution, implies. The Bill is necessary. It promotes local democracy, tries out some new things and does some things differently, brings in petitions and attempts to find new ways of engaging people. We cannot feel complacent that everyone is comfortable with the way in which local authorities operate. This is about restoring people’s faith in local government, increasing their confidence and involving more local people in the processes. My amendments are but a small part of a much bigger picture in which the trade-off for the political consensus about devolution is that there must be some change and some things being done that make a difference to how people feel involved and engaged in local processes. The amendments relate to councils’ overview and scrutiny functions following valid petitions. They extend the arrangements for holding officers to account from just a council’s own staff to appropriate officers from partner organisations that operate in that council’s area. I am grateful to the Local Government Association for preparing these amendments, which are intended to strengthen the accountability to the community of all local public officers while ensuring that the democratically elected council is at the heart of this process. In Committee, there were some crossed wires, leading to clarification from the Minister that Clause 16 was not about public meetings that could turn into kangaroo courts where lowly officers were publicly pilloried by an angry mob. No, the holding of officers to account relates just to coming before and giving evidence to overview and scrutiny committees meeting in public. So, too, of course, does the proposal in these amendments for extending the list of individuals covered. The senior officers who would be covered by these amendments could come from the primary care trusts, police authorities, waste disposal authorities and others. Select Committees of this House and another place summon civil servants and officers of public bodies, as well as their political masters. This has enhanced public scrutiny and shed light on public service provision. At the local level, holding officers to account from a range of local public bodies has similar merit. Indeed, since local authorities are being obliged to promote the work of such bodies and the public may, however unfairly, hold the local authority responsible for their actions, these amendments would make the position more equitable, while increasing accountability to the local community. They should improve scrutiny of the public bodies operating in the locality, thereby, to quote from the Bill’s Title, ""promoting public involvement in relation to local authorities and other public authorities"." I beg to move.