Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

My Lords, despite the lateness of the hour and the fact that tonight England is playing football, which I would rather be watching, I might as well make a contribution, particularly in view of my intervention in Grand Committee. That was on EPBs but the principle is the same. I need to remind noble Lords of my interest. I am now a member of the Northwest Regional Development Agency as well as being leader of Wigan and of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. I certainly believe that devolution is important and, if the Government are to achieve what they want in Parts 5 and 6 of the Bill, there needs to be devolution from government departments and agencies. I was intrigued to hear what was said about the amendment to see whether it would achieve what the noble Lord thought. We ought to apply a number of key tests. Obviously we are not just pepper-potting money around. Would the amendment allow for a contribution to a regional strategy, which is agreed between local authorities and the RDA, so that they did not simply give money away? Do local authorities have the capacity to deal with some of the issues? That is not always the case; it is obviously not the case in the county of the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, but small district authorities may not have the capacity to deal with some of these bigger issues. Would the amendment promote partnership working between local authorities and other agencies? That is important. The delegation from the north-west—before my time—to Liverpool helped to achieve all the objectives around the Capital of Culture year. I am struggling with this. If the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, were in his place, I would ask how the NWDA would prioritise. As has been said, there is never enough money to go round everywhere. How would it prioritise between a project in Pendle and one in Wigan? There is no guidance in the amendment. How would local authorities be accountable for the money? We must ask those questions. I noticed today that PwC produced a report on RDAs showing that, for every pound that the RDAs spend, £4.50 is generated within the regional economy. They are doing a good job and we need to make sure that that continues. I did not get enough clear answers from the noble Lord. I want greater clarity on devolution, but I do not think that the amendment hits the mark.