Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

I have tabled Amendments Nos. 20A and 25 in this group, which both concern consultation, or the lack of consultation time in the Bill and the lack of detail about who is to be consulted. There are a few stakeholders here and there and one or two others, but the local electorate seem to have been entirely left out. Amendment No. 25 would extend the time within which it is possible to make representations to the Secretary of State following a proposal by the Boundary Commission. I regret that I have not seen the guidance on the clause that was promised to my honourable friend Robert Syms in another place. I do not know whether it has not been issued or whether it just has not come my way. If it has been issued, I should be extremely grateful if it was placed in the Library for reference between now and Report. I am sure that that was overlooked, if it has been issued, but it would be helpful to have it. The current provision for a four-week period in which to make representations following a Boundary Commission report is simply not enough for councils and individuals to galvanise views and put together a convincing case. Even the two months that I propose in Amendment No. 25 would provide only just enough time to carry out a consultation in response to the proposals. I have proposed a shorter time than I would otherwise as a conciliatory gesture, but I am not sure whether it will be accepted. I hope that the Government can meet us on this because it is important not only for the interests of those who want a fair amount of time to make representations, but so that, in this whole process, the Secretary of State listens, and is seen to listen, and does not simply shut out dissenting voices through the use of unforgiving deadlines. The Government have a bit of form on this. The date of publication of the White Paper setting out the broad basis of structural change—omitting some detail, as we know—and the 25 January deadline for the submission of bids strangled the consultation process. Indeed, the strangulation continues in the government amendments. Amendments Nos. 27 and 29 have, I fear, provoked great anxiety among councils. The effect of the amendments seems to be that the Government will assign to themselves the right not to consult the public—in effect, they give the Government the means to make the decision on whatever grounds of consultation they might choose. I reiterate that the Bill and the Government’s handling of it are in stark contrast to the message that the Government are sending out that they take into account the views of communities and seek to empower them through their proposals. We have received representations from a number of parties going through what is becoming a messy restructuring process. As the Minister knows, there is already a judicial review on consultation. I have no doubt that that will be heard before Report, so we will have the benefit of it after the Recess. One party told me that the consultation process so far has been nothing more and talking to 44 citizens—presumably, some sort of residents’ panel—75 interviews and a negative market research exercise. I am astonished that with these deep objections to the consultation procedures the Government are apparently seeking further to restrict communication between the Executive and the electorate. The electorate need to be involved in those decisions. This matters to them. After all, they are the people who are affected by any change to local government and it is paramount that they should be consulted properly.