---

Local Government

The prospect of any change can be distracting, disruptive and unsettling. That is certainly the case for those who are intimately involved with, work for and serve on councils in the Cheshire area, which is one of the reasons why I am keen that this House and the other place come to a decision on the proposals. People will then know where they stand. If this House and the other place vote to support the move towards unitary arrangements, it will allow everyone involved—as they are already beginning to do, whatever their initial view of the proposal's merits—to begin to ensure that from 1 April 2009 we can put in place two effective unitary councils for the benefit of those in the area.