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Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister very much for the effort that has been put into this matter. We have been trying to see our way through it throughout our consideration of the Bill, and the Local Government Association and local authorities are very concerned about it. I understand that the Local Government Association is now content with what has been done. We always thought that it would be right to bring the Police and Justice Act under the local government Bill in this respect. However, reading the provision as carefully as I can, I think that the Police and Justice Act, given the way in which it has been amended, does what the local government Bill would have done—crime and disorder matters have been brought under it. However, I have a question for the Minister. I seek to clarify that the words ““crime and disorder committee”” appear in the Police and Justice Act 2006. As regards a local authority, we need to be clear that a crime and disorder committee is a scrutiny committee that oversees crime and disorder. I assume that that will be different in the various local authorities. In some it will be Cabinet overview and scrutiny; in others it will be a specific committee. However, we need to be clear that the local authority will not have to establish a specific crime and disorder committee. I say for the benefit of Hansard that the Minister is nodding in agreement to that view; that will save the Minister from having to respond. I thank her for that. We are now where we wanted to be; the community calls for action are tied up and can be dealt with in exactly the same way through both these pieces of legislation. Therefore, I need say no more other than again to thank the Minister. We discussed this during the Recess. An enormous amount of work has been done since then, which I very much appreciate.