Lord Lansley (Con):...To echo what my noble friend said, at the
very least the responsibilities of the county council and the
combined authority must be put together—perhaps with those of the
police and crime commissioner, as my noble friend suggested.
Certainly, we must do that, because otherwise we are asking the
combined authority to set out its vision—for example, in the
non-statutory spatial strategy—without it being able to deliver it;
it does not have the wherewithal to make it...Request free trial
(Con):...To echo what my
noble friend said, at the very least the responsibilities of the
county council and the combined authority must be put
together—perhaps with those of the police and crime commissioner,
as my noble friend suggested. Certainly, we must do that, because
otherwise we are asking the combined authority to set out its
vision—for example, in the non-statutory spatial strategy—without
it being able to deliver it; it does not have the wherewithal to
make it happen. The same is especially true of the local transport
plan, and to some extent true of training and skills. If we give
the combined authority and the mayor those wider responsibilities
and the capacity to deliver, we will be impressed by what
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough can achieve...
(Lab):...I have also come to
the conclusion, to which I had been opposed, that the role of the
mayor and the Police
and Crime Commissioners should be combined. I
understand that that was the original plan. However, it would be a
retrograde step if the 2017 Tory manifesto was followed and the
elections returned to first past the post. That was the commitment,
and it would be a disaster. The present electoral arrangements have
given us a range of police commissioners that we would not
otherwise have had...
(Lab):...Some
recommendations could work for some authorities, but perhaps not
the one that we currently have in North of Tyne. For that reason, I
would not be keen on strengthening the powers of the mayor until
the boundaries are more satisfactory and we have a more viable
organisation in that area. I am also not totally convinced about
the idea of combining the role of mayor with that of the police and
crime commissioner, and I have some concerns about admission
charges for local cultural facilities. I think there are various
ways in which you can encourage donations which should be looked at
before charges...
(Lab Co-op):...I
can see the logic of combined authority mayors taking over the
roles of the police and crime commissioners. That would be a very
good thing. Again, I am not convinced, and many other noble Lords
were not, by the idea of transferring various services, such as
affordable housing and schools, to the combined authority. I do not
necessarily see the merit in that...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local Government and Wales Office
() (Con):...The
noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, whom I thank very much for her
contribution and her expertise from the National Housing
Federation, asked whether we were going to be doing things more
deeply and more widely. To deal first with the “more deeply”, it is
very much unfinished business as far as the
metropolitan areas are concerned. If they want to
come forward with proposals for further devolution, we are very
open to that. Touching on the issue of Police and Crime Commissioners that
too could be brought forward by the areas that already have
devolution. There is, of course, one example other than London
where we have a police and crime commissioner who is also the metro
mayor: Manchester. The issue of coterminosity of boundaries would
need to be looked at in that connection, but that is certainly a
point...
...The noble Lord, , asked about the borrowing cap. I
will give him more details in a letter, if I may, but work is
progressing on that, with examples in Brighton and Hove and in
Stoke. It is beginning to happen, but it is early days; I will
enlarge on that in a letter. He referred also to the general
position on constitutional reform, for which a case could certainly
be made. He also asked about the issue of mayors
and Police
and Crime Commissioners which I think I have
covered...
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