My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these important orders in a clear and comprehensive way. As the noble Lords, Lord Shipley, Lord Alton and Lord Storey said, and as would have been clear from the debate in the House of Commons, we thoroughly support these orders. Indeed, why would we not, given that the authorities involved are largely Labour and that the primary legislation from which they spring—the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act—was legislation of the previous Government? We acknowledge
that the work of the noble Lord, Lord Heseltine, has spurred the coalition Government to take the opportunities that that legislation offers, and we acknowledge the Government’s current commitment to localism. I am bound to say that those of us who spent many hours ploughing through the Localism Bill and its detail will recall that it seemed to us then to be as much about power for the Secretary of State as about freedoms for local government, but it would be wrong to be too churlish on this occasion.
As for growth, of course we welcome the improvement in the economy. We will have to see how sustainable it is and how much of it genuinely comes from a rebalancing of the economy, a point touched upon by the noble Lord, Lord Alton. We agree that local authorities working together in the interests of their communities can be a real engine for growth, particularly outside London. As my honourable friend Andy Sawford put it when this matter was debated in the Commons:
“The new combined authorities will bring many benefits, including the strong and visible collective leadership of an area with democratic accountability and an influential and unified voice. That leadership will be able to have a single conversation with the Government, national agencies and business leaders and to align decision making and economic growth at a strategic level”.—[Official Report, Commons, 18/03/14; col. 707.]
As the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, said, combined authorities should enable more effective engagement with LEPs and facilitate delivery of city deals.
The issue that York is currently a non-constituent council in the West Yorkshire Combined Authority was the subject of some discussion in the other place, particularly following an earlier intervention from my right honourable friend Hilary Benn. We took it from the Minister’s reply in another place that the current problem is that combined authorities require whole local authority areas that share the same boundaries. The Minister undertook to consult in the next few weeks about how the legislation could be changed to address that problem. Perhaps the Minister could add a little more about the propositions that are being developed in that regard.
We welcome the commitment to see the combined authorities brought within the VAT refund scheme, which is another matter that was discussed in the other place.
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From the comments in the Explanatory Memorandum, it is clear that these propositions were forged from consensus. Indeed, we heard that from noble Lords today. The formal names of the combined authorities seemed a particular bone of contention, and when I first read this, I wondered whether they were a bit of nit-picking issue, but I have been convinced by the discussion in the Committee this afternoon, particularly from what we have heard about all the accolades delivered for Liverpool, that they are not. They are clearly an important issue. It seems to me that how the combined authorities address this and reach a consensus will be a test for them.
I understand that the combined authorities’ borrowing powers are limited to their transport functions. Will the Minister say why this is so? Presumably the levies that the authorities impose on constituent authorities
now have to feature in the determination of whether each is raising an excessive level of council tax. This is a change in the legislation which we debated in the Local Audit and Accountability Act. Will the Minister confirm that there are no adverse tax or otherwise consequences for the ITA, the passenger transport executives or the constituent councils from their transfer of functions, properties, rights et cetera to the combined authority?
We are pleased to support these orders. We await further such developments— particularly in relation to the north-east, in support of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley— which we would be happy to support when it emerges.