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Local Government

My hon. Friend no doubt speaks from his own experience. Our approach has been set out for some time, and it was reflected in the invitation to those authorities that wanted unitary status. Before I move on, two or three Members have said, ““The county council submitted the proposal. Surely you didn't just take the evidence that the county council submitted to support its proposal.”” The answer is that of course we did not. That is why we invited a wide range of consultees to give their views, especially about the way in which the county council's proposal stood up to the criteria that we established. Despite what the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) said earlier, paragraph 5.10 of the consultation did not include the question of citizens. It dealt with the broad range of support that we sought and made it clear that it was up to each proposing council to consult local people when they felt that that was an important part of their case.