---

Bournemouth Borough Council Bill [Lords] (By Order)

My hon. Friend is aware, of course, that when the Bournemouth Borough Council Bill was debated in the House of Lords, Lord Bach, speaking for the Government, said that he was not prepared to bring in national legislation. He said:"““these are essentially local matters for local authorities to tackle as and when necessary…They can deal with issues causing significant harm or concern independently of what other local authorities may do.””—[Official Report, House of Lords, 29 November 2007; Vol. 696, c. 1399.]" The Government have made it quite clear that they are not prepared to bring in national legislation; that is why we are forced to introduce legislation for individual areas.