Local Authorities: Regulatory Services

Baroness Seccombe Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Seccombe]

My Lords, I have the honour to be a vice-president of the Trading Standards Institute, an organisation that I much admire, and so it gives me great pleasure to thank the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, the president of the TSI, for securing this important debate.

The work of local regulatory services may not be an area of government that receives a great deal of attention when it is going well, but it is vital to upholding the rights of consumers, providing protection to the public and acting as a source of information to businesses and the community. Indeed, it is perhaps a sign of encouragement that we rarely see these services reach the national news for anything other than good news.

The noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, has highlighted the reduction in budgets in many services, but we have to remind ourselves of the climate under which this Government are operating. A horrendous fiscal deficit alongside an uncertain and shaky global economic climate has meant that tough decisions have had to be made in a variety of areas where many of us would not naturally wish to see less spending.

However, the Government have also been innovative in their approach. Spending less money does not necessarily mean a worse service or declining satisfaction. In many areas the Government have helped to identify new and more efficient ways of delivering services. A scrupulous review of all areas of government spending has allowed for innovation while protecting many taxpayers from having to increase their contributions to what, in many cases, was inefficient spending or unnecessary programmes. This has been particularly true in local government, which accounts for around £25 billion of the Exchequer’s expenditure. Does the Minister agree that the Government’s decision to freeze council tax has not only allowed households that are feeling the pinch to get some relief but also encouraged local authorities to look for new and innovative ways of delivering services?

Often without these budgetary pressures, similar organisations with similar remits can grow side by side without co-operation or without people taking the tough decisions that are needed. This is particularly true when it comes to consumer rights, an area of government that is obviously vital to protecting customers and business but in which many people used to get confused between the plethora of organisations involved, including the Office of Fair Trading and trading standards. Can the Minister clarify whether this duplication and confusion have now been clarified and, if so, whether this has improved the situation for consumers?

We need a system that is without confusion, where problems can be identified quickly and dealt with speedily. Unfortunately, we still hear of small businesses suffering because their competitors can sell fake goods or goods that have been acquired through undesirable means—at boot sales, for example. Does the Minister agree that this is harmful to the British economy and undermines the trust needed between consumers and businesses?

Finally, it is important to acknowledge that it is wise and democratic to empower local authorities to decide which services their residents need and to what extent they should be financed. I welcome the principle that councils should be given more control over their own budgets and should be held to account. The Government’s decision to allow local authorities to retain business rates to invest in their local area is a welcome and long overdue move. Can my noble friend say how much this change is expected to raise for local authorities? The further we move away from a situation where councils can always blame Whitehall and Westminster for decisions made locally, the better. Accountability and transparency are both great tools for ensuring that spending levels are maintained at a reasonable level and I welcome any steps that the Government take to increase the use of these tools.

Many of the services that the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, has raised do exceptional work for their communities, but these services cannot exist in a vacuum that ignores the wider fiscal situation, the need to modify and evolve to meet changing circumstances or the need for more local accountability. Like many areas of government, they have to adapt and become fit for purpose for this day and age.