Local Government Bill [HL]

I thank the noble Baroness for her response. I hope that she is right and that there will not be complete obduracy. She is resting her case for opposing Norwich and Exeter becoming unitary on the ability to construct partnership arrangements between the two authorities. However, if one of the parties refuses to give or disaggregate the necessary information on which the partnership is to be built—and as a district council we have no way of requiring them to give that information—and the Government will not impress upon it the need to give that information, in what way will her alternative recommendation of a partnership have any validity whatever? In one or two years’ time it will be exactly the same as it is now, and as it was in 1994, and as it was in 1988 for all I know. That is not enough. We cannot build services for citizens who are paying their rates and their taxes by precept on ignorance, but that is what we are doing. No Government of any political complexion should expect councillors to go to their taxpayers and ratepayers and say, ““These are the services, but we do not know whether we can do better than this because the information is being withheld from us””. How can we deliver, as we all want, effective, value-for-money, transparent and accountable services when that information is withheld? We shall return to this on Report. I hope the noble Baroness will be able to help by impressing on the relevant county councils their possibly legal but certainly moral obligation to share information so that the citizens of the counties of Devon and Norfolk get the best possible services, which we all want them to have. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 5 withdrawn. Amendment 6 not moved. Clause 3 agreed. In the Title Amendment 7 In the Title Amendment 7 Moved by