Local Government Bill [HL]

My Lords, this is the first time that I have spoken on this issue. I must admit that it is difficult to find something to say that has not already been said. Both sides of the argument are polarised—entrenched in their view. No amount of argument, however good, will change those views. I live in Norfolk, have been a district councillor for more than 10 years and am chairman of my parish. Although I was brought up overlooking the River Dart in Devon, most of what I say will concern Norfolk. It will come as no surprise to the House to hear that I am firmly entrenched in the camp that believes that a unitary Norwich and Exeter is not the right answer. The noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, and her friend Charles Clarke—MP at the time for Norwich South—have both pushed hard for a unitary Norwich. In thinking of what to say today, I have tried hard to understand the arguments of the opposing side and what their compelling reasons for a unitary Norwich are. But like the Merits Committee chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, I, too, have found, "little supporting evidence". Indeed, I look forward to listening to the noble Lord’s contribution in winding up for Her Majesty’s Opposition. Has he now miraculously found the "supporting evidence" for the Opposition’s "compelling reasons" for unitaries? Has it suddenly become clear to him, ""how unitary status is expected to solve the problems identified in relation to each city, without creating unacceptable consequences elsewhere"?." Has he now found the, ""clear, evidence-backed case for the proposal"?" These quotes come from the Merits Committee’s summary, which he chaired, so I will listen to his speech with great interest. The noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, argued on 22 March that a new business looking to settle in Norwich walked away because it was frustrated by the current two-tier system. She said that, ""it did not want the hassle. Because Norwich was not unitary, I lost 600 jobs".—[Official Report, 22/3/10; col. 800.]" Unfortunately, the noble Baroness’s argument does not sit comfortably with what the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie of Luton, said earlier that day, when moving the order. He said: ""I am sure noble Lords here today will recognise that Exeter and Norwich are the engines of economic activity and potential in their sub-regions. Their pull already draws in investors businesses, employers and wealth. There are numerous examples of how these cities have been successful in attracting businesses—for ""example, the Met Office or EDF Customer Services relocating to Exeter, or the fact that Norwich ranks as a top 10 UK retail centre and one of the top 10 cities in the UK for employment in knowledge-intensive businesses".—[Official Report, 22/3/2010; col. 787.]" The noble Lord clearly does not share the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, that Norwich has been hampered by the two-tier system. Every time I have thought round this issue, I come back to the same point—to my mind, the kernel of the issue—and that is, does the proposed change to a unitary Norwich satisfy the five criteria set out by the Labour Government? I believe that the party opposite has missed a trick here in that there is perhaps a sixth criterion; that is, will the proposed change improve the services supplied? But we are where we are. We have five. The first two—a future unitary structure must be affordable and must deliver value for money—provoked that letter from the Permanent Secretary to the Secretary of State, seeking a ministerial direction because these proposals did not meet the affordability test or the value for money test. The Permanent Secretary, also the accounting officer, who is legally responsible to Parliament to account for money, sought a direction and required the Secretary of State to give him a direct order to implement proposals that ignored the very rules laid down by the Labour Government. A third criterion is that the proposal must be supported by a broad cross-section of partners and stakeholders. What does "broad cross-section" mean? It is probably not as much as 50 per cent, but maybe 30 per cent would be a good cross-section. If one stretched it, one might argue that 20 per cent was sufficient support. Anything smaller would be skating on thin ice. With this in mind, the Government, or rather the DCLG, did a limited consultation and you would have thought that the electorate were very much stakeholders, as they, after all, pay the council tax. However, the electorate and the parish councils were not consulted—indeed, they were specifically excluded from the consultation. There were about 1,400 responses to this rather limited consultation. An overwhelming 85 per cent wanted the status quo, only 10 per cent wanted a unitary council for the whole of Norfolk, and a paltry 3 per cent wanted Norwich City to become a unitary. If the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, and her friend Charles Clarke both sat down on a bench and took their shoes and socks off, they would just about be able to count the support for their proposal on their fingers and toes. That is hardly overwhelming. The fourth criterion is that any future structure must provide strong, effective and strategic leadership. Now let us look at this. This year, Norwich City Council charges £226 for band D council tax. My council, Breckland, charges only £64 for band D, which is, I believe, the lowest in the country. In a recent survey, the electorate rated the provision of services from Breckland good and above average. Given that Norwich City Council charges 3.5 times more than Breckland for council tax, one might expect the provision of its services to be even better. Both Norfolk and Devon County Councils have been granted beacon status, which means that not only have they been considered excellent but that they act as a beacon or example to other councils on how to provide services. What about Norwich City Council? Has it been granted beacon status and are its services above average or excellent? Sadly, they are not. If you ask Norfolk people for their views on Norwich City Council, their response is one of despair and frustration. The city council is an example of local government incompetence. They say that it is dysfunctional, financially incontinent, and has effectively been put in special measures. A new chief executive has had to be drafted in, the Audit Commission has described Norwich City Council’s financial management as not fit for purpose and, to cap it all, the director of housing was sacked last year because of a housing scam. It is these people that Her Majesty’s Opposition want to run the unitary Norwich, with far greater responsibilities. Some argue that they cannot even run a whelk stall. Therefore, I do not buy the argument of the noble Lord, Lord Howarth—I am sorry that he is not in his seat—when he stated that, ""Norwich has been poorly served by Norfolk".—[Official Report, 22/3/10; col. 820.]" If anything, Norwich has been poorly served by Norwich City Council. The fifth and final criterion is that the proposal must deliver opportunities for neighbourhood empowerment. What on earth does that mean? One might expect that it means that neighbourhoods, the people, would have a greater say in decision-making. I hardly think that not allowing the electorate or members of parish councils—who, after all, are the elected representatives of the neighbourhoods—a say in this proposal is neighbourhood empowerment. I have concentrated my remarks on the five criteria because I believe that they are the kernel of the argument. They are, after all, the five conditions that must all be met when considering a new structure for local government. The noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, argued that they were only, ""guidance … from which the Secretary of State was entitled to depart".—[Official Report, 22/3/10; col. 801.]" Surely the Secretary of State was not entitled to depart from all five criteria. I am not alone in believing that none of the conditions has been met. That is why I support this Bill revoking the setting up of the city unitaries, which was pushed—or rather, forced—through by the previous Government. Since this issue was previously debated, as has already been said, the High Court has ruled that the Labour Government’s decision was unlawful. This whole process has already cost the councils millions of pounds and, if it is allowed to continue, will no doubt cost millions more in restructuring costs—money that would be better spent on improving front-line services. This process has been, as my noble friend Lord MacGregor said, a shambles. Even Charles Clarke last month conceded that, ""the process has been incompetent"." I agree, and I support the Bill.