Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I tabled Amendment 134 as a response to recommendations in the report produced on the Bill by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. Clause 20 allows the petitions scheme to be extended to bodies other than principal local authorities. The first two bodies on the list are parish councils in England and community councils in Wales. As the Delegated Powers Committee pointed out, they are much smaller than the other bodies listed in that clause and therefore have much more limited resources. Their budget may be only a few thousand pounds, and any new duty or provision must be examined very carefully if it is to be made obligatory for such councils. The need to balance the desirability of extending petition schemes with the other competing responsibilities that parish and community councils face should be carefully considered. This amendment requires any such order to be subject to the affirmative procedure. I would not be surprised if, in the light of our detailed and exhaustive debates earlier in Committee, the Government did not want to see the issue of petitions raised in Parliament for some time to come. However, we would be ignoring our responsibilities in this House if we were to wave this issue away and say that the appropriate national authority would take such matters into account. If we have learnt anything from these debates—I feel I have learnt a great deal—it is that this issue is not as simple as it might at first appear. If we were to allow the appropriate national authority simply to impose the duties and responsibilities on potentially very small and underresourced authorities, we would be passing on all the difficulties and problems that would arise, as we have discussed. Noble Lords have highlighted bodies that may not be able to unpick the problems themselves. I am quite sure that the appropriate national authority may take all such matters into account, but I believe that Parliament should be wary of allowing orders that would have a disproportionate effect on those subject to them to be made without careful and close consideration. I hope that other noble Lords and the Minister will agree.