Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

It is nice to be back after having had a break. The amendments that we are considering relate to Clause 67, which provides for the regional development agency, the RDA, and the leaders’ board for a region to act as the responsible regional authorities in relation to the revision of a regional strategy. Very sensibly, it provides that, where there is no leaders’ board in a region, the RDA should act as the responsible regional authority, and this is obviously where the amendment is positioned. In short, Amendment 172B proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, begs the question of who should act as the responsible regional authority is there is no leaders’ board in a region. The noble Baroness argued that the RDA should not be given sole responsibility for the review and revision of the regional strategy, even where local authorities have failed to agree a suitable form for a leaders’ board. She spoke about the Bill, in this sense, having created a loophole, but the loophole is in fact the amendment, which fails to offer an alternative arrangement where no leaders’ board is in place. Here, in short, we are looking at an administrative and decision-making vacuum. The Bill obviously defines responsible regional authorities as being the RDA and the leaders’ board of the region, but it must provide for the eventuality that no leaders’ board is in place. This is an extremely unlikely proposition. Leaders’ boards have been welcomed as a positive way forward. Leaders in local government are already putting them in place; five are on their way to fruition and the process is well on the road. The different forms that regional partners are choosing to adapt are evidence of the flexibility in the arrangements that the legislation allows. There is every incentive in the world for local authorities to work together to establish a mutually acceptable leaders’ board in order that they may play their full role in the regional strategy process. The noble Baroness suggested that what she seeks to put in place would improve democratic accountability but the amendment could increase the likelihood of Secretary of State involvement if there was a vacuum. That would be very perverse when so much of our debate has focused on where the Secretary of State’s powers should rightly lie. We have been consistently clear that the reserve powers are intended as a back up, to be used only in exceptional circumstances. By weakening the joint arrangements, the amendment risks bringing in the Secretary of State to ensure that a revision takes place where there is no leaders’ board. It is therefore obvious that I cannot accept the amendment. The amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, are similarly concerned with the default position of the RDA but offer a different solution. They propose that if there is no leaders’ board for a region then the responsible regional authority for the region would be the RDA and the regional chamber designated by the Secretary of State under Section 8 of the RDA Act, which would be retained. Many of the arguments I have just put apply equally to these amendments. However, they also have their own drawbacks. They would involve the retention of a regional chamber, but it is not clear whether this means retaining or reconvening the regional assembly in regions such as the north-west. The Government’s position is clear: we do not want to retain the regional assembly. What we need now is democratic accountability in which local authorities are much more closely involved in making the regional strategy. We are retaining the statutory functions that the regional assemblies currently carry out as regional planning bodies and as regional chambers because we have taken into account people’s views about the current fragmentary nature of the regional architecture. What we will have now is a greater role for local authorities and a greater involvement. On that basis, I hope to persuade the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, to withdraw her amendment and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, to not move hers.