Localism Bill

My Lords, it is certainly clear that these amendments cover an important aspect of local government governance, and I acknowledge the strength of feeling around the House. It has been a very informative and well informed debate, and I think it has added a very useful stimulus to the discussions which have been well trailed but which I hope will follow as a result of this debate. I have to say that there is considerable common ground between us: we all want a vibrant and the strongest possible local democracy and we all want the highest standards of conduct in local government. The issue—and this is what we are trying to grapple with—is how we achieve that. The abolition of the Standards Board regime is a coalition agreement commitment. Whatever the original intentions behind the establishment of the regime, it has become a heavy-handed and costly vehicle for dealing with complaints, which can, in some cases, be petty, malicious, vexatious or politically motivated. I note that the noble Lord, Lord Bichard, in his very able presentation of his amendments, agrees with this judgment. My noble friend Lord Tyler did so most powerfully. At the same time, it is evident that many noble Lords have significant concerns that what the measures in the Bill put in its place are too localist and do not deliver the outcome we all want. It is apparent that consideration of these issues will repay any time that we give between us to get it right. There are some difficult issues here, and there is clearly a discussion to be had on where to strike the balance between the local framework we have proposed and the framework proposed in these amendments. I am not going to claim that I have all the answers at this stage. I will not—as I would normally do—respond to many of the detailed points that have been raised, because I think it is perhaps best to deal with those in these discussions, and we should not try to pre-empt what we will say. I can perhaps give a steer as to how the Government are approaching the situation. I think there is merit in some of the amendments that have been put forward. In particular, I am sympathetic to the proposal in Amendment 175 that there should be an obligation on local authorities to have a code of conduct, and that any such code should have some core mandatory elements to it. If the House is willing to give us space to consider this matter further, I am willing to take it away with a view to discussing it with noble Lords and seeing if we can come up with something suitable ahead of Third Reading. At the same time, I am more sceptical about some of the other proposals that have been put forward. For instance, I would have concerns that, in making provision about an enforcement or appeals mechanism, we might in effect recreate much of the architecture of the standards regime. I think that is a concern shared by many noble Lords, judging from the contributions they have made. We could end up inadvertently modifying rather than abolishing the Standards Board regime. I note also the concerns of noble Lords on the criminal sanctions. While we have some amendments to include in the Bill, which I will be moving, we accept that this can also be a matter for discussion and clarification. We also need to look carefully at the points the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, and my noble friend Lord Greaves have made about parish councils. It is vital we get a system that works not only for principal authorities but also for parish councils. My sense is that we need to discuss the shape of the regime first, then work through how we apply that to parishes. I would not want to prejudge those issues at this stage. However, it has been very useful to have the input on that matter here this evening. Given all this, in light of this debate and my offer to look again at the way our localist view can be implemented, I propose that we should hold discussions off the Floor to see if we can find a way through ahead of Third Reading. If the House is willing to give us space for those discussions, I would like to invite all noble Lords who have led the debate today to meet my noble friend Lady Hanham and me between now and Third Reading to see if we can agree how we might strengthen this Bill. I hope noble Lords will take up that offer in the spirit in which it is intended, not force it to a vote today. There is much to discuss and I hope between us we can bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.