Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]

The Bill faces in absolutely the wrong direction. The core of the Bill is to give more powers to the regional development agencies, which are unaccountable bodies. It sets up leaders panels, heavily chaperoned by the Secretary of State, as was said in Committee, to manage the consultation process. The situation should be exactly the other way round—those powers should go to local government. Local government works well together. The multi-area agreements work and the leaders panels have something to be said for them, but they should be bidding for the powers that are presently vested in the regional bodies, along with private sector partners and the third sector, because they are ultimately accountable and those regional bodies are not. If we take the combined effect of the Planning Act 2008, the Infrastructure Planning Commission and the powers given to the regional development agencies, there is a huge retreat from accountability with the Bill, which is very bad for democracy. The title of the Bill is a parody of what its impact will be in practice. Perhaps before the Government implement this, they should read Tristram Hunt's book, "Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City" and contemplate how much they and perhaps all of us have at times contributed to its fall. It is about time that we engineered its rise again. Question put, That the Bill be now read the Third time. The House divided: Ayes 274, Noes 189.