Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]

New clause 19, together with new clause 20 and amendments 28 and 29, relates to mutual insurance arrangements. I thank Opposition Members from both parties for their assistance with bringing forward the amendments. They may well have issues that they wish to raise, but it is generally recognised on both sides of the House that this has been a matter of some concern for local authorities since the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in the LAML—London Authorities Mutual Ltd—case in June 2009. In July, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published the consultation paper "Strengthening local democracy", which sought views on the scope of local authority powers, particularly as regards their powers to undertake mutual insurance arrangements. The consultation response attracted 96 responses to the specific question on mutual insurance, with 82 per cent. agreeing with the proposed power. New clause 19 provides permissive powers for authorities to enter into mutual insurance arrangements, if they wish to do so. Authorities exercising the power will need to ensure that any proposed arrangement meets the duty of best value as laid down in legislation. While it seems unlikely that all local authorities will wish to establish or participate in an insurance mutual, for those for which it makes good business sense to do so, clear and specific legal powers will be available to them for that purpose. The amendment provides that best value authorities, which are described as "qualifying authorities", may establish and become members of a corporate body—for example, a company—the object of which is to provide insurance in relation to insurance risks to authorities that are members of the mutual. Only qualifying authorities may be members of the mutual. The mutual may also provide insurance to other bodies, which may be prescribed by regulation and which I will call "affiliates". They will be bodies that have some association with qualifying authorities—for example, arm's length management organisations, academy schools or wholly owned subsidiaries. Broadly, the intention is for a qualifying authority to be able to sponsor an affiliate to bring it within the mutual's insurance cover, as we understand that many local authorities arrange insurance cover for ALMOs and some schools. However, affiliates will not be able to become members of the mutual. The qualifying authorities are to be provided with a power to pay premiums and other payments to the mutual insurance body, and can agree to make any such payments as may be necessary in future. They can also assume financial obligations in relation to affiliates. The Secretary of State in relation to England, and Welsh Ministers in relation to Wales, may by regulation subject to the affirmative procedure amend the list of qualifying authorities. They may also impose restrictions or conditions on the use of the power by regulation subject to the negative resolution procedure. We intend to consult on the content of such regulations. Qualifying authorities are required to have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State or Welsh Ministers and to any documents specified in regulations, such as guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Again, we want to consult on that. New clause 20 lists the qualifying authorities that are to be provided with the power to become members of a mutual insurance body. It also sets out the appropriate parliamentary and Welsh Assembly procedures for regulations. Amendment 28 provides for commencement of the new clauses, which will be brought into force when commenced by order, and amendment 29 is a consequential amendment to add a reference to insurance in the long title of the Bill. I commend those amendments to the House. New clause 16, tabled by the hon. Members for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman), for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) and for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne), would amend the current well-being power, a power that local authorities have to promote or improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area. It would remove the link to well-being, giving authorities the power to""undertake any activity or business, do any act, or enter into any transaction"" for the benefit of their area or its inhabitants. The Government have long been committed to ensuring that councils have a wide range of powers and providing them with the freedom to be innovative and act in the local interest. Indeed, we introduced the well-being power in 2000 as a broad power of first resort to enable local authorities to act for the benefit of their local community. In 2003, we introduced new freedoms and flexibilities for capital finance, including prudential borrowing powers. At the same time, we provided powers for best value authorities to charge for discretionary services and enabled new trading powers to be conferred on authorities. We are aware that the decision in the LAML case raised concerns about the scope of local authority powers, and through the "Strengthening local democracy" consultation we have sought to better understand them. We have acted speedily to answer the immediate concerns raised by the case, so as to ensure that best value authorities can take part in insurance mutuals. As part of our commitment in the consultation, we are considering whether there are other cases in which existing local authority powers are not sufficient to enable them to improve services and achieve efficiencies. However, they are complex issues that need careful consideration. I assure the House that we are committed to such consideration following the recent consultation, but I am concerned that "power", as it is expressed in the amendment, would not give councils the certainty that they need if they are to take part in mutual insurance. Indeed, the Court of Appeal judgment, which in a sense is at the root of the Government amendments, indicated that any general power would be unlikely to provide local authorities with the necessary confidence to engage in mutual insurance and similar arrangements. We are introducing our amendments today to address that problem, but, as I have said, we are committed to considering other ideas that came forward in the consultation. New clause 15 would provide for the Secretary of State""in consultation with the regional development agencies"" to""make proposals…for a scheme of delegation for the discharge of"" the RDA's "functions" by""a local authority…or…a group of local authorities"" in its region. However, new legislation is not necessary to achieve what we all want, which is interventions delivered at the right level that will align with and strengthen effective partnership working between all parties in a region. The Bill already has a very clear focus on enhancing the role of local authorities in economic development through the introduction of economic prosperity boards and local economic assessment duties and by providing a statutory basis for multi-area agreements. The economic assessment duty, for example, will provide a shared and agreed understanding of local economic conditions and will form a key part of the evidence base that will inform priorities for regional strategies and their implementation plans to ensure that local circumstances and perspectives are properly reflected. In that context, the focus should be on the principle and practice of joint investment planning, which can be achieved within the existing legislative framework, rather than on delegation of RDA functions. The key is closer working between RDAs and local authorities in planning the implementation of the regional strategy, which will deliver the optimum outcomes at local level. Certainly, we propose a joint approach to planning and investment in the region, which will enable local authorities to take on a large degree of responsibility for delivering agreed programmes and projects in their areas. However, RDAs should retain final accountability for funds passed through them.