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Police and Justice Bill

I can assure my hon. Friend that I have had extensive discussions with the Local Government Association, which is pleased that we are giving local councillors a fundamental role. They will become advocates for their local community, and that is an entirely proper role for them to undertake. It is a new and innovative power to enable local residents to call to account not just the basic command unit commander but the local authority and other partners in the crime and disorder reduction partnership when action is not undertaken. That is an extremely powerful tool. Clearly more detail is required, including time scales, but the local councillor will play a central role. I did not want the creation of new police panels and panels to lead us to neglect the established mechanisms that work in local government. I fundamentally believe that local government and local democracy are extremely important, so making them work effectively will help to raise the esteem in which local councillors are held. If local authorities, including Liberal Democrat councils, do not use the antisocial behaviour powers as they should, local residents can use the community call for action to make them use them and address the problem of antisocial behaviour in their community.