Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

This debate on the notion of partnership, especially as it concerns the voluntary sector, very much illustrates the notion of boundaries. We recognise the realities of how things are done and how they could be done better. It is not as though we have presented a Bill that we have invented from scratch. We are building on successful practice in local authorities. We are working with local government and the Local Government Association. This is also a challenge laid down by Michael Lyons. There is some prehistory to this to which we are responding. It means working in new ways and it will not be as simple as we would like, but the challenges of the future are not simple either. We need to use the skills and imagination that we have across the statutory and voluntary sectors. That is what this is about. I am very aware of the situation in Cornwall. It is a very good example of the voluntary sector playing a critical role in a child poverty strategy and it is an example that other parts of the country could well learn from. Amendments Nos. 209C, 209CAA and 212RA concern how to establish credibility in relation to the voluntary sector while not overburdening it. This group of amendments would require the responsible local authority when preparing the LAA or the sustainable community strategy to consult non-statutory local area agreement partners. That is achieved in the Bill. Clause 108(2)(a)(ii) already provides that the responsible authority must consult, "““such other persons as appear to it to be appropriate””" during these preparations. The relevant word is not ““may”” but ““must””. The question has been raised as to the sort of organisations that might be appropriate. That will be entirely for the local area to decide—that is where the discretion will lie—and its decision will be based on experience and ambition. However, the amendments would remove that discretion so that it would have to consult all non-statutory organisations in the area. That clearly does not make sense. We build in discretion so that it knows who the key delivery partners from that sector are. We have the experience of the LSPs, 80 per cent of which have voluntary sector umbrella organisations among their membership. Nearly two-thirds involve businesses. We have a great deal of experience on which to draw. I think that we can rely on the common sense of local authorities to do that. Local strategic partnerships are where the collective intelligence and experience of making local area agreements resides. The ones with which I am associated and have watched in action bring together an extraordinary range of dedicated, committed and experienced people. They know what they want to achieve in their local areas and by and large they know how to do it. For the first time they have been able to work together to show how they complement and add value to each other’s work. That will continue because there is no other body like the LSPs. They will have to contribute their experience and be part of the formative process of making the LAA. There is no choice in that regard. However, for the reasons I explained, we cannot put this in statute. We cannot make them named partners or cannot refer to them as statutory consultees because they are not legal entities—they are partnerships. But, my word, they will be consulted because they will have to be. We shall make that perfectly clear in guidance if anyone is in any doubt, but I do not think that there will be any doubt at all. I have absolutely no disagreement with my noble friend on schools. I believe passionately that schools are at the heart of our communities. We ask an inordinate amount of them and they contribute an inordinate amount to the welfare of the community far beyond what is provided in the school day and in the buildings. The 18 statutory early years and education performance targets will form part of every local area agreement. They are built up from the statutory targets that are set each year for local authority maintained schools. Schools are engaged in local partnerships in many different ways such as through children’s trusts and the Children and Young People’s Plan. That all feeds into the sustainable community strategy. Section 38 of the Education and Inspections Act places a duty on school governing bodies to have regard to the Children and Young People’s Plan. A number of strategies make it clear that schools are involved in place shaping activity where it is appropriate. That is the point. It is a matter of burdens and effectiveness. Some local authorities have well in excess of 300 schools. Many of them are small primary schools which have a very limited capacity to contribute to strategic level discussions, as they would admit themselves. To place a duty on responsible local authorities to consult or co-operate with them without discretion would add a huge burden and huge bureaucracy. However, schools will be involved in many different and more effective ways. I hope that the Committee is satisfied with those remarks.