Contributions
1,006 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI feel that we have gone a long way to doing that, although we do accept that this is a bridging position to get us to the multi-year settlement. None the less, £3.7 billion of…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationMy hon. Friend makes a very good case for reorganisation, and I agree with him.15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationFrom our perspective, we cannot allow the cancellation—or postponement, I would say—of elections to be driven by any political views. We are clear that this is an administrative…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI can absolutely assure my hon. Friend of that. Let me just say that in 2019, 11 district council elections were cancelled to allow reorganisations to take place, and so were…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe need to be clear that the members who will discharge the functions of the council and the executive have been elected. The idea that they are not elected is not accurate, and…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationIt is quite usual for a county council and a district council to disagree on the way forward. From a Government point of view, we will consider proposals on an equal basis…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe can only go as fast as the process allows. We can start the process early, and we have done that. We can give clarity early, and we are doing that. What we cannot do is to…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationThe point that my hon. Friend makes about balancing identity is as much about culture and approach as it is about where boundaries for councils are drawn. Sometimes, the identity…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe tackled that head on in the White Paper, which said that, for efficiency, the minimum population will be 500,000, but was clear in the same paragraph that—this is where…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationFrom the Government’s point of view, acting in a legal, quasi-judicial way, we have to take such decisions on the value of the evidence and the proposals. It is not our job to get…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI think the right hon. Member is getting at the fact that there will be a range of views on this issue, but it is the Government’s job to give direction, and we believe that…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe will see what comes forward from local areas. In some areas, there may well be a general consensus on the number of unitary authorities, but varying views on the boundary…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationA theme is developing of campaigning for elections to bodies that some wish will not exist in the future—that sounds familiar—and for referendums being the answer to some of this.…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe certainly accept, particularly in the case of Woking, where the debt is significant, standing at over £2 billion, that the question of debt has to be addressed through the…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI think that is a fair point, and I will take it away.15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationWe have to stick to the principles of the White Paper, because that informs the legislation that will come later this year. We are very clear in the criteria that we will not, and…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationThe hon. Member makes a fair point. We are clear in the White Paper that we want to see devolution rolled out at an ambitious pace. We are doing that, and are pleased with the…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationThe hon. Member is conflating two separate issues. One is the process of reorganisation, and his area of Harrogate has been through that process, including the postponement of…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationThe White Paper was directive on this issue. I can only assume the hon. Gentleman has not read it, or he got bored and gave up halfway through—I will leave him to answer that.…15 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI thought I was going to get a request to reorganise Newtownards—I have got enough on my plate with England! The point the hon. Gentleman makes about the treatment of debt is…15 Jan 2025