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Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill [HL]

First, I declare an interest as vice-president of the Local Government Association. I shall speak about the amendments to which the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, has just spoken. First, I think that Amendment No. 68 is particularly important. Local government legislation clearly uses separate definitions for the roles of members and officers. It is important that that should be properly reflected in the Bill. The way in which the noble Baroness has sought, in Amendments Nos. 69 and 70, to clarify the wording about members and officers is helpful. However, I depart from the Local Government Association’s brief and its support for the amendments because of the proposal in Amendment No. 70, which specifically refers to someone being appointed as,"““the member with executive responsibility for education functions, or social services functions, of a local authority””." I wonder whether, given the ways in which modern local government organises itself, that distinction is always as clear-cut as it is here. I am aware of different ways in which portfolios have been put together in different local authorities that mean that it is no longer as simple as saying ““education or social services functions””. I appreciate that, if we approached the matter from the other angle and asked, ““Irrespective of the title of the position, what legislative responsibilities are being carried out?””, we could address the issue. However, I am also aware of local authorities that say that, although executive members have individual portfolios, the executive as a whole take a collective responsibility. I also wonder about the implications for a local authority if an executive member who had, perhaps, only a tangential relationship with education or social services functions started to request information or require access to particular material or individuals that would potentially lead them into the areas covered by the Bill. I support the general thrust of Amendments Nos. 68 to 70 in attempting to draw a clear distinction between members and officers, but I have reservations about drawing a distinction between individual members of the executive in a local authority.