Contributions
2,184 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLocal Government ReorganisationWith respect to the noble Baroness, putting in new resources at this stage would not really help matters. Councils have their programmes of work under way. They are all working…26 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate seeking—quite rightly—some clarification. I will refer first to the below-threshold limits, because I…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationAs I said, it was up to councils to determine how they responded. The vast majority of places that were due to have elections will have them. Where councils have responded that…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026There is enough flexibility in this order for local authorities to determine these matters, to put their heads together and decide how they want to operate in procurement terms.…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I think administrative boundaries take account of rivers generally, so I hope that there being a river in between you would not get in the way of you procuring jointly with your…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026We are discussing a matter of semantics here, but the confusion might have occurred because, under the Local Government Act 1972, “county” includes metropolitan authorities. That…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I do not think that the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, has spoken in the debate.21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I will take away the issue that the noble Lord has raised, review it and write to him on it, but it looks clear to me that the order says “where there are two or more relevant…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026Councils can procure either singly in an area that they have determined or jointly with an area that is next to them. I am not sure that I can be any clearer in setting the…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I think the answer is yes but I will come back to the noble Lord in writing. The threshold might step in there because, as I have set out, there are limits on the threshold for…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026My Lords, this order delivers on the Government’s commitment to build a stronger economy in all parts of the country. It gives local authorities in England the tools they need to…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026That the Grand Committee do consider the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026. Relevant document: 46th Report from the Secondary…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationMy noble friend is quite right to say that there is a precedent for cancelling elections. I have been involved with local government for a very long time. At many times in the…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationThe Secretary of State wrote to four councils following the responses that came in on 15 January because it was not clear from their responses whether they were requesting a…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationAs the process of reorganisation and devolution has gone forward, a key aspect that the department has focused on with our colleagues in local government has been a smooth…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationThere is clear precedent for postponing local elections where local government reorganisations are in progress. It can prevent costly and distracting elections for short-term…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationI agree with the noble Baroness about accountability and the Nolan principles. It is also the duty of councillors to make sure that they can provide the quality of public services…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationIf those elections are agreed for cancellation, the councillors who would have been due for election will already have an electoral mandate. The councils have decided whether they…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationOn the noble Lord’s point about the Electoral Commission, we wrote to the Electoral Commission to notify it, and last week I met the commission to discuss the matter. On elections…21 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationWe are undertaking a once-in-a-generation reorganisation of local government. We have now received proposals on this issue from all areas and from councils across the political…21 Jan 2026