My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president and former chairman of the Local Government Association.
As did many Members of this House, I began my political career as a local councillor. I have seen first-hand how services can be improved by devolving powers over them to local areas rather than running them
from Whitehall. Brexit should not simply mean a transfer of powers from Brussels to Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff. We have an opportunity to do things differently, and to do them better.
The White Paper on legislating for withdrawal from the EU stated that leaving the EU is an opportunity to ensure that,
“power sits closer to the people of the UK than ever before”.
To my mind, that means that we must devolve power to our communities. We also know that legislation concerning education, housing, social care and numerous other issues has been improved by the involvement of local government. Parliament benefits from the experience that many Members gain from serving in local government and working for the LGA and its members.
At present, local government has a formal advisory role in the EU law and policy-making process through its membership of the Committee of the Regions. The committee has made sure that the voice of local communities is listened to and informs law and policy- making. Just one example of its work is its successful campaign to block an attempt to set binding EU targets for the renovation of local authority properties. Despite MEPs supporting the Commission’s proposals, Ministers supported the committee’s view that the targets would set an intolerable £5 billion burden on local councils, and that a more general objective for each member state would better respect the principle of subsidiarity. In my eyes, this does not mean that the committee has been perfect; it certainly has not. We do not wish to leave one large bureaucracy and create another home-grown version. I am not recommending that we recreate the committee, and neither is the LGA. However, it is important that we ensure councils have a formal role, as new legislation that affects them is brought before Parliament.
I know that the LGA, together with the local government associations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, has been in discussion with the Government about how councils’ advisory role might be continued once we leave the EU. It is positive to read that the Government have already had constructive discussions with local government about how the consultative rights that councils have at European level, through the Committee of the Regions, might be replicated domestically, without recreating the committee.
I hope that these discussions will continue to make progress and the Minister will be able to update the House with a solution.
5.16 pm