Sustainable Communities Bill

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for reinforcing the point that I have made. Having referred to the Government’s White Paper, I want to refer to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill. In this debate, health has been referred to in a slightly misleading way, which deviated from the thrust of the Bill before us. Nevertheless, the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill represents a significant step forward in the devolution of power and public involvement, which is the subject of the debate. I cite that Bill because I firmly believe that we cannot give the impression that the issue of sustainable communities is the only one on the agenda in terms of public involvement and public empowerment; rather, it is one aspect of a broader debate. It makes sense for us to debate the principles enshrined in both documents, and I have tried to compare and contrast them in my modest contribution. In the Government’s White Paper and the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, those points have been given more consideration than, for example, the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy) has given them.