Local Government Bill [HL]

Lord Rennard Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rennard]

My Lords, in responding to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Low, I simply point out that the arguments about the costs of by-elections now to be held in September illustrate one of the many reasons why it would have been far better to have approved the fatal amendment tabled by my noble friend Lord Tope in March than to have proceeded in the way that we have. Had that amendment been approved that night, it would have stopped the orders then. The subsequent unnecessary costs, which are still being incurred, could have been avoided.

Central to the whole debate are the claims made about the so-called compelling reasons that led the previous Government suddenly to change the criteria for considering these issues—and to act unlawfully by failing to give notice of their change, thereby avoiding consultation on the new criteria—and to try in the last few days in office to steamroller through proposals that they themselves had previously rejected. The only compelling reasons why the previous Secretary of State acted as he did was the certainty that his Government were about to lose office and the urging of the Norwich and Exeter local councils. The then Secretary of State ignored the clearest possible warnings that his course of action was illegal.

As the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, has pointed out, when Norfolk and Devon county councils asked for an expedited hearing in the High Court so that the issue could be resolved before the local elections and before we got to this problem, this was opposed by the Department for Communities and Local Government and by both city councils. It is clear to me—I attempted to table a further amendment during consideration of the orders—that the orders should not have proceeded without the judicial review having first been properly considered, because they were very different from other orders; they were the only orders for which the department’s senior civil servant had to write to the Minister to say that the judicial review was very likely to succeed.

As the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, has pointed out, the Merits Committee and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments both warned strongly about the dangers of proceeding, but the advocates of the proposed Norwich and Exeter unitary authorities, including Norwich and Exeter councils, chose to ignore all this and must therefore accept responsibility for the way in which they behaved.

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I can say simply that I will not accept this amendment. I have heard once again all the arguments in favour, and I have listened to the noble Lord, Lord Low, very carefully. Statute is for interpretation. The fact is that these two authorities have landed themselves in a situation in which elections are needed. They have known from the outset that if things went this way, a third of their councillors would be disbarred from the moment the decision was made and elections would have to follow. They chose to seek legal advice on whether those elections should be held, and I understand that it has now been agreed that they will be held on 9 September. They will form a normal part of proceedings. The only additional expense will, I understand, be in the manning of the polling stations, which they would have to do in any event when elections are held. It is not for the Government to pick up this bill. The local authorities, even in these difficult circumstances, have the money to do so, so I do not accept the amendment.