Communities and Local Government/Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is right in one sense, but that could be more an excuse for a county council to grab local powers. However, he makes a valid point. I simply feel that the affairs of my town are best looked after by locally-elected borough councillors, not county councillors in Chelmsford, most of whom have no direct knowledge of Colchester. The only thing that unites the county of Essex is not the county council—as I said, it has been dismembered anyway—but the BBC Essex radio station and Essex county cricket club, when it is doing well. They unify Essex, not the make-believe county council. I agreed with many points made by the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Sir Peter Soulsby) about the lack of accountability and democratic control of increasing numbers of quangos and arm’s length bodies. The hon. Gentleman did not mention local strategic partnerships, which are even less accountable than quangos. The Government need to address the situation. Answers received to parliamentary questions in the past Session made it clear that members of local strategic partnerships are not governed by the same rules of engagement as democratically-elected councillors. I have personal knowledge of cases in which confidential information is being shared with members of a local strategic partnership—perhaps not all members, but certainly one or more—before local, democratically elected councillors hear about it, and that is of grave concern. The Government need to address the issue of where they are going with local government and democratic accountability. Essex county council has ceased to be relevant and it ought to be abolished. There should be unitary authorities in those parts of Essex where that would make sense—and if it makes sense for Southend, it makes sense for other places.