Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I am pleased to be able to say to the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, that I have more sympathy with this amendment than I did with his amendments in the previous group. If the duties in Part 1 are to become law, the Government should recognise the importance of district councils and the key role that they play in promoting democracy. However, I also understand why we would not like to see any unnecessary duplication. The noble Lord’s amendment could allow duplication, however inadvertently. Nevertheless, I welcome the opportunity that he has created to allow the Committee to look at the role of district councils. I am interested to hear more from the Government on how they have considered the role of district councils and how they envisage the interaction of district councils and county councils in this part, and indeed in later parts, of the Bill.