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London Local Authorities Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for giving us the opportunity to have this Third Reading. I will speak briefly to set out the Government’s position on the Bill and on the amendments being tabled by the noble Lord today. This is a private Bill and, by convention, the Government officially take a neutral line on such Bills, although perhaps with this one we might be stretching the definition of ““neutral””. I am pleased that it has finally been able to have its Third Reading today, nearly two years after its Second Reading. I understand that an enormous amount of work has been put into the preparation of the Bill, and the discussions between the petitioners, the departments and its promoters have been taken very seriously. I pay tribute to all those involved for engaging so positively. The amended Bill is now a much more appropriate piece of legislation as a result of its scrutiny by the Select Committee and Committee on Unopposed Bills and the considerable negotiations that have taken place. As the noble Lord indicated, when the Bill was first introduced there was considerable concern from many departments about specific provisions, which my noble friend Lady Andrews drew attention to when she spoke on behalf of the Government on Second Reading. I welcome the promoters’ positive engagement with departments over the past couple of years to address those concerns. I am pleased that the amendments being moved today address all of the Government’s remaining concerns, especially, as the noble Lord has highlighted, the withdrawal of Part 4 of the Bill about the registration of second-hand dealers in London, on which several departments had expressed concerns. That means that the Bill is now much narrower in scope than originally intended, and I understand that that will have been a disappointment to the promoters. Nevertheless, it should still be very useful legislation, enabling boroughs to tackle more effectively a wide range of local problems in London, from unsafe portable adverts to mail-forwarding scams. It is a tribute to the noble Lord that he has persisted with the promoters to bring the Bill to this stage. I am happy to support this group of amendments and other amendments today.