Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

The noble Lord has raised an important point. For the new statutory LAAs to work, there is no doubt that everybody must act in an appropriate and timely fashion. Without a clear understanding of timings, there is the potential for delay and agreements could become out of date. We intend to put the timetable for clearance expected of central government into guidance. That is probably better than putting it in the Bill. We will show how that can be arrived at through partnership. We will also make sure that all the partners are on board when those expectations for timing are set. That will include the behaviour that is expected of central government as well. That is all that I can commit to on the record. I cannot give the noble Lord any details of the timetable other than the one month that is specified in the Bill for the designation of targets. However, I acknowledge what he said. We will certainly think about the timetable. If it is in guidance, we will have some flexibility to get it right.