Local Government Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill (Money)

Robert Neill Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Robert Neill)]

I beg to move,

That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Local Government Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of any increase attributable to the Act in the sums payable under any other Act out of money so provided.

Going back to yesterday’s debate, I appear to be the “accredited person” to move today’s motion. I see that my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) is not in his place today, but this is a private Member’s Bill moved by my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), so this is a unique debate.

We are debating the motion because the Government are keen that the Bill in its amended state should move forward. The passing of a money resolution is an important step in that process. The costs to local authorities of implementing the new duties in the Bill—to give written notification of decisions and to review the decisions—are seen as a new head of expenditure to be met out of the grants that local authorities already receive from central Government. Similarly, any increase in the administrative costs of the local ombudsman service associated with the Bill will be seen as a new head of expenditure to be met from the grant that the ombudsman receives from central Government to fund the organisation. The motion refers to payments under other Acts being increased as a result of the Bill, because, technically, a new head of expenditure is a notional increase for the purposes of Commons financial procedure, even though it might not, in fact, give rise to an increase in expenditure.

Against that background, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch for his work on the Bill. I thank him for working so constructively on the proposed amendments, which mean that I can confirm the Government’s intention to support it in its amended state. The Bill was last debated on 18 March. At that stage, the Government were unable to support it. However, it received its Second Reading and the amendments made since make it acceptable to the Government.

We think that the Bill will perform a valuable function. It is right that if a local authority decides to stop or impose restrictions of the kind referred to, the reasons should be set out in writing. There should also be an appeals mechanism if the decision is a negative one. The fast-tracking procedure is helpful. We think that the costs associated with the Bill are, in fact, negligible.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

I do not want to detain the House unduly. We do not wish to vote against the motion, although I should say that the Bill is being proposed at rather an interesting time. Both Houses of Parliament spent an enormous amount of time debating the Localism Bill, to which many amendments were tabled but were rejected by the Government on the grounds that they would impose additional burdens and costs on local authorities. It seems odd, to say the least, to find that the Government support a Bill that will definitely place additional responsibilities and costs on local authorities. I also believe that, in this age of localism, the Government are displaying some extraordinarily centralising tendencies, on which the Minister may or may not wish to comment.

[Robert Neill]

At risk of prolonging proceedings, may I say that the hon. Lady will understand that the Government can support the Bill because the amendments, effectively mean that a local authority will be obliged in stating its reasons to put in writing the product of a process that it must have gone through in any event? We are simply asking authorities to record and set out what they will already be doing as a matter of good governance, so the costs and burdens are rather negligible.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

Well, that remains to be seen. I do not think it is a good idea to legislate on the basis of chance and hope.

It is important, however, that the Bill proceeds to be debated properly in Committee. There are an enormous number of health and safety issues, and Opposition Members are concerned to ensure that citizens are adequately protected. We are also concerned to ensure that extra burdens are not placed on local authorities, especially at a time when they are the subject of such stringent cuts from central Government. We think that is a most unfair approach.

We will not oppose the motion. We want the Bill to go into Committee for thorough discussion, but I must make it clear that that does not mean that we support its provisions in any way.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Neill]

I thank the Members who have contributed to the debate, and I wish to set their minds at rest.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope) for his comments. I am sure he agrees that he and officials from my Department have had a chance to hold constructive discussions in the time that has elapsed since the Bill was last before the House, and that he will therefore be able to propose amendments to which the Government will be happy to lend their support.

I also think the concerns of the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) about costs will be allayed. Although I am always loth to correct the hon. Gentleman, who is Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, he will appreciate that the functions of the local government ombudsman, as we call that post, are legally carried out by the Commission for Local Administration in England, and while the post of chair of that commission is vacant, two commissioners are still in place, Dr Jane Martin and Ms Anne Seex, and Dr Martin is the acting chair of the commission so there is, effectively, a local government ombudsman in place and able to fulfil those functions.

Question put and agreed to.