Local Transport Bill [HL]

I think that the answer has to be ““yes””. I do not think that there can be a different status of member if you have an ITA. That would be wrong. Where the order for a particular ITA area provided for the ITA’s membership to include one or more non-elected persons, it would also need to include a provision covering how those persons would be appointed. That is important to ensure that appointments follow proper procedures. Given that, we do not think that it is necessary or desirable for the Bill to take the inflexible approach that members must simply be appointed by the ITA itself. The noble Baroness, Lady Scott, asked about political balance. The approach would reflect the Local Government Act 2000 and its executive arrangements. In essence, we have to reflect on how that Act works, because it would be hard to achieve political balance between parties where, for instance, a single leader of an executive, as set out in Section 11 of the 2000 Act, operates. We seek to allow ITAs to use the same structures as local authorities have had in place since 2000, so it is not a perfect reflection of political balance. That is how I understand it.