Local Government Bill [Lords]

The right hon. Lady has mentioned what she called the small cost of the transition and the savings of £6.5 million to be made. However, those savings are for 2015-16 onwards. Was it the previous Government's view that the massive upheaval and uncertainty for those counties and what is actually a large sum of money—even if she called it a small amount—was worth it in the hope that, in five years' time, those savings would be delivered? Given how much the economy has changed in the past five years, the chances of seeing those savings seem slim.