Tuesday Volume 514 27 July 2010 No. 39 Part1of2 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 27 July 2010 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2010 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 845 27 JULY 2010 846 sector and others to create local enterprise partnerships, House of Commons which are genuinely representative of what local communities want. Tuesday 27 July 2010 Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD): Does my right hon. Friend recognise that the abolition of outposts The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock of central Government in the regions is good news so long as the decisions that they previously took devolve PRAYERS locally and do not drift to the centre? Does he also recognise the importance that business in the north-east attaches to the creation of a new enterprise partnership [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] that is able to do some of the things that the regional development agency used to do? Oral Answers to Questions The Deputy Prime Minister: Yes, of course I recognise that it is very important that the manner in which the local enterprise partnerships are now established—not least in the north-east, which has a strong regional DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER identity—should be shaped around the needs of the communities involved. We look forward to receiving proposals from the north-east for the local enterprise The Deputy Prime Minister was asked— partnerships in the north-east. Regional and Local Representatives May I just say that localism is not just about bureaucratic structures? It is about giving local authorities greater 1. Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab): control over our health service and people a say over What discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues how policing is conducted in our local communities. It involving elected representatives at regional and local is about looking long term at how local authorities can level in decision making by Government Departments. have a greater say over money as well. That is real [11073] localism, not bureaucratic localism. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg): The Boundary Changes Government are committed to not just promising localism, but practising it. I and other Ministers have regular 2. Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab): meetings with local authority colleagues, across a range What assessment he has made of the effects on of issues and at regular intervals, about the decisions constituency cohesion of parliamentary constituency that we are thinking of making. That is what greater boundaries which do not follow existing administrative transparency and devolution are all about. boundaries. [11074] Mr Marsden: The Deputy Prime Minister talks a good talk about devolution and localism, but that is The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr Mark about all he does. In fact, he and the Business Secretary Harper): The Government believe that constituencies acquiesced in the abolition of the regional development should be of more equal size, and that should be more agencies. I have here a letter from him in which he important than administrative convenience for Members acquiesced in the abolition of Government offices—one of Parliament. In any case, many constituencies cross of the few areas in which local representatives can have local authority boundaries at the moment. For example, an input. 19 of the 32 London borough boundaries are crossed by constituencies today. Will the Deputy Prime Minister now give an undertaking to the House that he will intervene on his colleagues in the Government to make sure that the new regional Chi Onwurah: Will the Minister or the Deputy Prime growth fund decisions have a proper input from elected Minister explain to me their definition of the localism councils and local authorities, rather than— that means that local people in Newcastle will have no say locally in the boundaries imposed on them because there will be no opportunity for a local public inquiry? Mr Speaker: Order. We have got the gist of it. Questions and answers must be brief. Mr Harper: Clearly, the hon. Lady has not read the The Deputy Prime Minister: I am interested that the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, hon. Gentleman should think that the abolition of the which we published last week. We are actually extending regional development agencies and Government offices the consultation period for local people from one month is somehow a blow against localism. Our view is that the to three months, to give local people, local organisations Government offices had become a representation of and political parties more opportunity to comment on Whitehall in the regions, rather than a voice for the the boundary commission proposals, not less. regions in Whitehall. Equally, some RDAs do a good job, but he knows as well as I do that many local Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset) (Con): In communities do not identify with regional development considering this matter, will the Minister bear in mind agencies. That is why we were right to say that it was up the fact that people have historic loyalties to the traditional to local communities to come together with the private counties of England, not to administrative regions? In 847 Oral Answers27 JULY 2010 Oral Answers 848 particular, will the people of Somerset be allowed their fact that Labour Members do not believe in seats of historic county, not some monstrous, vague, administrative equal size and votes counting equally across the whole nonsense? of the United Kingdom. Mr Harper: If he has looked at the Bill, my hon. Voter Registration Friend will know that the boundary commissions are able to take into account local ties, but only to the 3. Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con): What extent that we can still have equal-sized constituencies. assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the They are able to look at those things, but we think that system of voter registration in Great Britain. [11075] the principle of equal-sized seats is most important and should take priority. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg): The Electoral Commission reports that the completeness of Mr Jack Straw (Blackburn) (Lab): Will the Minister Great Britain’s electoral registers remains broadly similar confirm that under the Bill, local boundaries, including to the levels achieved in comparative countries. The county boundaries, can be completely ignored and that Government want to improve the accuracy of the register the only boundaries required to be observed are the by speeding up the introduction of individual electoral national boundaries? Will he also confirm that under registration in Great Britain. We are also considering the Bill the Boundary Commission will be required, by giving electoral registration officers the capacity to compare law, to begin the process of redrawing the boundaries the data on their electoral registers with other, readily for the whole of the United Kingdom in the Isle of available, public data to identify individuals who may Wight—to transfer 35,000 voters in that constituency not be registered. across the Solent into Hampshire, and then to work up the United Kingdom in an equally arbitrary way, with Mr Amess: Over the past 13 years, there was much no public inquiries? talk by the last rotten Labour Government about sorting out the shambles of electoral registration. What plans I heard the Minister’s waffle about extra consultation, do the new Government have to speed up the process of but that is no substitute whatever for independent public introducing individual registration? inquiries, which the Government are abolishing because they are scared of the results. How does what is in the The Deputy Prime Minister: I agree with my hon. Bill fit with any idea of the practice of localism and Friend that far too little progress was made by the greater transparency that the Deputy Prime Minister previous Government in dealing with this issue. We will has just promised? accelerate the process of individual electoral registration, and we will make announcements about that shortly. Mr Harper: There were so many questions in there Our whole approach to this is governed by two principles: that it is not clear which one to answer. First, we are not first, to bear down on fraud in the system, of which proposing to move anybody who currently lives on the individual electoral registration is a key component; Isle of Wight; I think that they will continue to live and secondly, further to improve the completeness of where they are. The right hon. Gentleman is talking the register itself. If Members in all parts of the House nonsense. We do not lay down a prescriptive method for have particular ideas about how the annual canvass can the boundary commissions to draw the boundaries; be improved, the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, they are independent, and they will continue to draw my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean the boundaries. Frankly, the hyperbole that he has come (Mr Harper), who is responsible for constitutional reform, out with today and in his reasoned amendment to the will be keen to hear their views. That is why we are Bill bears no relation to the proposals that we published having the pilot scheme this autumn to allow electoral last week. registration officers to compare the register with other databases, go to the homes of people who are not on the Mr Straw rose— electoral register and ensure that they get on to the electoral register.