Curiously, despite the fact that the original Orders creating unitary authorities for Norwich and Exeter were quashed by the High Court, the Lords is still debating the Bill which overturns them. Two weeks ago, Lord Howarth of Newport, and others on the Labour benches, tried to derail the Bill by having it referred as potentially hybrid. They won the vote to refer it, only to see it declared as non-hybrid.
Undaunted though, they returned to the fray, with a series of further amendments, leading Ros to intervene on Amendment 3...
Baroness Scott of Needham Market: Is there not a danger that, if this amendment were passed, the noble Lord would place a particular duty on these authorities that does not apply to any other authorities anywhere else in the country and that he would therefore be turning this Bill into a hybrid Bill?
It seems that Lord Howarth would be hoisted by his own petard, as his proposal introduced obligations upon local authorities beyond those specified in the Bill itself. That might explain why it was subsequently withdrawn...
No comments:
Post a Comment