Localism Bill

We are dealing with a broad group of amendments relating to local authority governance. I wish to begin by speaking to amendment 15, which would ensure that it is compulsory rather than voluntary for local councils to adopt a code of conduct. The subsequent amendments make it clear that the code of conduct must be in line with the Nolan principles and would ensure that arrangements are in place to investigate complaints against a member, including the appointment of an independent person whose view must be sought before action is taken. As the Minister said, this group would also allow the Mayor of London to exercise functions relating to standards and provides for a register of interests. We welcome the amendments. It was bizarre that, in Committee, Government Members opposed the requirement to have a code of conduct—I found that extremely confusing. We accept, in this House, that we should be subject to clear standards of behaviour, but the Government were proposing that other elected representatives—people who deliver important services to their communities and take decisions that affect people's daily lives—should not face a similar requirement; a council might have a code or it might not. Such a situation is not acceptable. It fails to offer sufficient protection to the public and it implies that the standards regime is optional. In Committee, we heard all sorts of convoluted justifications for such an approach. The Minister said that the old system was"““an almost constant source of irritation to almost every local authority.””––[Official Report, Localism Public Bill Committee, 3 February 2011; c. 287.]" He is right about—in my experience, it was usually the Lib Dems doing the irritating, because they were continually putting in complaints. He argued that authorities should have the freedom not to have a code of conduct, but that denigrates local government. He got very close to saying that local government was not important enough to be required to have a code of conduct. Nobody in Committee was standing up for the old system, but that did not mean that it was right not to have a code of conduct at all. Labour Members think it is a vital part of our democracy and deserves to be treated as such. The Minister argued that there was no need for compulsion because everyone would have a code of conduct anyway, but that failed to answer the question of what would happen if they did not. We are pleased to see the amendments and to see that clause 18 sets out clearly that a register of interests must be maintained in an authority and how pecuniary interests must be disclosed.